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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27240904">Case of Baby Fever</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistehri/pseuds/Mistehri'>Mistehri</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>「 Diegesis 」: Homage to Soonyoung &amp; Jihoon [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>SEVENTEEN (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Sexual Assault, Baby Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Background Relationships, Basically Jihoon Gets Turned Into A Baby, Because He Is Babie, Caretaker Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Crack, Crack and Angst, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, Gen, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi is Whipped, Lee Jihoon | Woozi is Whipped, M/M, Minor Character(s), Minor Violence, Oblivious Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi, Tooth-Rotting Fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 23:00:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>25,254</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27240904</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mistehri/pseuds/Mistehri</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jihoon has a case of baby fever. Symptoms come with loud screaming, babbling, and lots of tears and snot. The worst part? Soonyoung doesn’t have the cure...until he does.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>「 Diegesis 」: Homage to Soonyoung &amp; Jihoon [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1394980</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>232</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A Baby On The Way</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Gather the midwives and the doctor, there’s a baby on the way!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here it is, the long awaited baby Jihoon fic dedicated to Jihoonie’s birthday, huhuhu. Happiest birthday to our Vobo! Wooahae~</p><p>Enjoy reading! ❤</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Soonyoung didn’t think it was possible for his day to become worse than it already was. Maybe fate just has a funny way of telling him to go fuck himself, or maybe he was just born to be cursed with bad luck for his whole life. One thing is for sure though — the universe is out to get him; whether that be in the form of crying silently in the bathroom after getting emotionally and verbally abused by his high school bully, or whether that be in the form of receiving constant rejections by the love of his life and middle school crush, Lee Jihoon. </p><p>Either way, he’s fucked.</p><p>As soon as their professor dismisses them, Soonyoung wastes no time in packing up his papers and books. He can feel the anxiety edging its way down his throat, and his trembling hands become colder where they’re trying to stuff a thick literature book into the opening of his bag. There’s a familiar, uncomfortable presence behind him, and all the hairs on the back of his neck perk up instantly. He shivers.</p><p>“Kwon Soonyoung,” a voice drawls, and he jumps, a sharp icicle shooting from the palm of his hand in surprise. He whips his head around to face the smirk of his high school bully, Yoo Seungmin. “Whoa, calm down. Going somewhere, pretty?”</p><p>Soonyoung swallows down his anxiety, the icicle from his palms retracting slowly. His hands clench tight around the straps of his bag as he musters up all his courage to say, “What do you want, Seungmin?”</p><p>Seungmin clicks his tongue and takes a step closer, smirk growing until his teeth are showing. He doesn’t stop until he’s pressed up right against Soonyoung, chest meeting his back almost suffocatingly.</p><p>Soonyoung jumps when he feels a hand graze his hip suggestively, and another, smaller icicle shoots from his palms in surprise. Inhaling shakily, he peers past Seungmin to look around the room. There’s only one other student in the room and her head is bowed down into folded arms, seemingly sleeping. Swallowing again, he takes a step back instinctively, only to almost fall backwards on one of the chairs when Seungmin prowls forward again with a glint in his eye, right into his personal bubble.</p><p>“My answer has never changed, darling,” Seungmin purrs, his hands still insistently touching Soonyoung’s hip. “Now what do you say?”</p><p>Soonyoung struggles to find his voice, especially when Seungmin seems to lean in impossibly closer.</p><p>“N-No.”</p><p>Seungmin’s eyebrows nearly shoot into his hairline at that. “No?”</p><p>Soonyoung shakes his head hesitantly, slowly dragging his bag closer to him. “No.”</p><p>He watches in horror as Seungmin’s face changes drastically. His smirk falls off, replaced with a scowl that instantly sets the warning sirens off in Soonyoung’s head. Gone is the mischievous glint in his eye, now replaced with something darker, more dangerous. The grip on Soonyoung’s waist tightens abruptly, and the dancer has to bite down hard on the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from making any sort of sound. He doesn’t want to give that type of satisfaction to Seungmin.</p><p>“Looks like your answer never changed either,” Seungmin sneers. “What’s wrong, Kwon? Don’t want me to be inside that tight, little cunt of yours, huh? What, can’t take a cock?” He pauses, before a wicked smile curls on his lips. “Oh, that’s right. You can’t, ‘cause no one’s ever fucked you before, right? It’s okay. I’d be honored to be your first, Kwon Soonyoung, if you’d let me...” His voice trails off, hand sneaking downwards.</p><p>Soonyoung feels his breath hitch as darkness begins to cloud the corners of his vision. His now freezing hands are unable to keep still around the straps of his bag. Despite his ice powers, there’s a familiar heat behind his eyes, threatening to spill over. His throat locks tight with fear, mouth unable to move despite how much he wants to cry out for help.</p><p>Help does come, in the form of Boo Seungkwan.</p><p>“Get your filthy hands off my hyung, Seungmin,” growls a familiar voice, and Soonyoung feels his breath <em> whoosh </em>out of him at the sound as the darkness from his vision fades away. “What the hell is wrong with you?”</p><p>Turning his head around, Soonyoung can make out Seungkwan’s figure standing by the door with his arms crossed. While he can’t see Seungkwan’s face, he can only imagine his furrowed eyebrows and pursed lips in that typical way when Seungkwan is ticked off. While the younger man looks less than welcoming now, all Soonyoung can feel is a small sliver of security in his chest, relieved at the sight.</p><p>The warmth of Seungmin’s body disappears from Soonyoung’s back, and the latter snatches his bag quickly with shaking hands. He runs towards Seungkwan, feeling more uncomfortable without a familiar presence beside him, and feeling even more vulnerable when he feels Seungmin’s gaze trained on his back like a hawk, as though he’s waiting for the right time to strike.</p><p>He meets Seungkwan halfway, a wave of comfort washing over him once Seungkwan’s hand makes contact with his arm. The next thing he knows, the younger man is gently pushing him behind him, as though to protect him from Seungmin. From what Soonyoung can tell, Seungkwan is still glaring fiercely at Seungmin, whose wicked smirk returns, seemingly untroubled by the sudden turn of events. It makes him more uncomfortable.</p><p>“Just havin’ a little fun,” Seungmin says casually, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Got a problem?”</p><p>Soonyoung can feel Seungkwan’s anger radiating off his body, and he hesitantly places a hand on his shoulder.</p><p>“Kwan,” he says softly, worried. “Let’s just go, please.”</p><p>“Yeah, <em> Kwan </em>,” Seungmin sneers. “That’s right. Run away like you always do, why don’t ya?”</p><p>Soonyoung can feel Seungkwan tense up, and he tightens his grip on his shoulder. <em> “Seungkwan.” </em></p><p>Seungkwan turns his head to peer at him for a moment, and Soonyoung can only give him pleading eyes in return. The rational part of him knows Seungmin won’t stop his antics, and he knows that his bully will keep harassing him, maybe even after they graduate. The irrational part of him wants nothing more than to run up to Seungmin and give him a good punch to his jaw, maybe even his eye, but he knows it’s a stupid idea. Irrational, because despite his ice powers and how mature he is, he has yet to figure out how to control it.</p><p><em> Don’t make this any bigger than it already is, </em> he wants to say to Seungkwan, throat still tight with trepidation. <em> He’s not worth it. Let’s just go.  </em></p><p>Without another word, Seungkwan simply latches onto Soonyoung’s arm and proceeds to drag him out of the classroom. Soonyoung has no choice but to follow, not that he would want to stay back with Seungmin anyway.</p><p>“Pussies!” Seungmin exclaims from behind them.</p><p>Without looking back, Seungkwan raises his middle finger up before they turn the corner into temporary safety. Soonyoung doesn’t look back to see Seungmin’s reaction, instead trying to ground himself with the comfort of Seungkwan’s hand still touching his arm. He takes a few deep breaths in, trusting Seungkwan to lead the way to whatever destination they’re supposed to go to.</p><p>“The nerve of that asshole,” grumbles Seungkwan, still radiating anger. “He touched you again, didn’t he? He tried to hypnotize you? I swear to god, I’m gonna punch him when I see him next time. Just wait until I tell our friends what he did to you. He won’t know what’s gonna hit him — ”</p><p>“Seungkwan, no, please,” Soonyoung pleads, feeling alarmed at the thought. “Just...Just leave it alone. Don’t tell anyone else, please.”</p><p>“Hyung, he <em> harassed </em>you — ”</p><p>
  <em> “Please.” </em>
</p><p>Seungkwan halts in his steps, nearly causing Soonyoung to bump into him. The latter watches as the younger man turns his head to stare at him incredulously, but then his face softens into something less harsh than before. He turns to face Soonyoung completely, still keeping the grip he has on his arm.</p><p>“Why don’t you wanna tell them?” Seungkwan questions quietly amidst the crowd of students walking around them. “Hyung, this is a serious issue. I can’t just keep silent from our friends knowing that Seungmin is probably there getting all up in your personal space again. You <em> need </em>to tell someone, not just me. We can help you, hyung.”</p><p>Soonyoung sighs, gnawing on his lip and rubbing a hand down his face. “I know. I’m sorry. I just — I don’t feel comfortable. It just feels like he’s always watching me no matter where I go or what I do, and just — I feel like it’ll turn into a bigger issue if he finds out I told someone other than you. I don’t want anyone else to be involved, so please — can you keep it to yourself?” he pleads.</p><p>Seungkwan is silent for a moment, but Soonyoung knows instantly where his mind had wandered off too. He doesn’t want to admit to anything, but Seungkwan always manages to get an answer out of him one way or another. </p><p>“Is this because of him<em>?” </em>Seungkwan questions softly.</p><p>Soonyoung clenches his jaw but keeps a tight smile, ignoring the sudden increase of his heart rate. “Maybe. Just — leave it alone, okay? I’ll — I’ll think of something soon, I promise, but for now, I want to keep my mind off of him.”</p><p>Seungkwan stares at him for a moment, his doe eyes scanning his face as though he’ll find anything short of the truth. Then he sighs. </p><p>“Okay,” he relents, turning back around and guiding Soonyoung through the crowd. “We need to meet up with Cheol-hyung and the others at his dorm anyway. We have a new report of some woman who’s apparently been silencing — silencing? Is that the word? Whatever — point is, this woman has been silencing people for a reason we still have yet to find out about. How much do you wanna bet it’s ‘cause of trouble in the social department?”</p><p>Inwardly smiling at how easily the conversation changed, Soonyoung teases, “We don’t even have to bet, Kwan. All the reports lately have been because of social issues. I’m surprised Jihoonie hasn’t blown a fuse yet.” </p><p>Seungkwan scoffs, turning his head slightly to peer at him with a knowing look. “Jihoonie this, Jihoonie that. You always somehow manage to include Jihoon-hyung in any conversation, don’t you? When are you planning to confess to that heated grump, huh? It’s been, what, seven years?”</p><p>Trying to ignore the wild fluttering of his heart when he hears Jihoon’s name, Soonyoung feels his face warm up at an alarming rate, and he whacks Seungkwan’s shoulder when he hears the younger man cackle. He can feel his ears starting to heat up with embarrassment, especially when Seungkwan had mentioned it being seven years since Soonyoung has been in love with Jihoon. He really can’t believe it’s been that long already.</p><p>He doesn’t say anything in retaliation, only mutters a curt, “Shut up,” when Seungkwan snickers at the lack of response. </p><p>Together, they continue navigating through the sea of students until they’ve reached the area where the dorms are located. It takes them a grand total of ten minutes to walk across the path towards Seungcheol’s dorm, and another five minutes to actually reach Seungcheol’s door. When they get there, everyone is already inside, lounging about in whatever space is available in the small room.</p><p>“Late as always, huh, roommate?” a cold voice drawls from the couch, and Soonyoung turns his head to see Jihoon peering at them lazily, his head lying leisurely in Jeonghan’s lap.</p><p>Soonyoung immediately looks away, feeling Jihoon’s scolding like a slap to the face. He’d been meaning to look for a distraction to keep his mind off the Seungmin situation, and Seungkwan had been doing a good job at that, but now he can’t help but remember that Seungmin is the reason why he’s almost always late for the debriefing. He feels his cheeks redden when more eyes turn to stare at them in question, but Seungkwan shrugs them off easily, letting go of Soonyoung’s arm to walk towards his boyfriend, Hansol, who’s sitting on a small armchair.</p><p>“Got caught up in something,” is what he says, eyes flashing to Soonyoung’s for a brief second before he seats himself on the arm of the armchair Hansol is sitting on. “It’s taken care of though. What’s this I hear about a woman trying to silence people? Is that her power?”</p><p>”It is what you said, Seungkwan,” Seungcheol says dryly. “We’ve been getting reports lately that there’s a woman who's been muting people, and some cases have been reported to come with side effects. The reason has yet to be disclosed, but from what I’ve read, she seems to be an elite, meaning she has more than one power that is more advanced than people like us.”</p><p>Jihoon snorts. “What a joke,” he grumbles, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes when Jeonghan strokes his hair soothingly. </p><p>Soonyoung feels the scene like a dagger to his heart. The sight of Jihoon allowing Jeonghan to be affectionate with him, when Soonyoung himself keeps receiving constant rejections, doesn’t help the ache in his chest either. It’s as though Jihoon will let anyone hug or touch him so long as “anyone” doesn’t involve a Kwon Soonyoung. The thought makes his throat lock tight again, disheartened. He thinks he’s been heartbroken so many times already that he's pretty much numb to it at this point, mindlessly still chasing after Jihoon’s attention as though he’ll receive it.</p><p>“She’s said to be mostly a non-violent person,” Seungcheol continues, looking deep in thought, “but some reports claim that if she doesn’t lift the muting curse — or whatever it is — or if the curse isn’t broken within two weeks, then the people are to remain mute for the rest of their lives.”</p><p>“But shouldn’t the curse be lifted?” Jeonghan drawls. “Powers are only used temporarily, aren’t they?”</p><p>Seungcheol shakes his head. “Not elites,” he affirms. “Elites can use their powers for as long as they want. The only way to make them stop is to either strip them of it with a spell or talk them out of it, and with their powers gone, it’ll lift the curse off of anyone who has it.”</p><p>Chan makes an incredulous noise in the back of his throat. “And how many cases have there been already…?”</p><p>“Seventeen,” answers Seungcheol, scrolling through his phone. “It seems as though there’s patterns in her behavior, so it’s safe to assume we can easily compromise with her if it so happens that any of us get muted as well. The hardest part is tracking her down. From what the rookies say, her whereabouts don’t have any particular pattern to them, and they assume she just goes wherever she feels like going after conducting a curse on someone. That’s where we come in.”</p><p>Soonyoung practically buzzes with excitement from where he’s leaning on the kitchenette counter. Even though they’ve occasionally been getting cases here and there, each mission feels as though it were the first. He can feel the adrenaline pumping in his veins at the thought of another mission to complete.</p><p>“Our objective for now is to find out why she’s doing what she’s doing,” Seungcheol says, snapping Soonyoung out of his thoughts. “We’ll leave in an hour in three cars. Jihoon, Soonyoung, Seokmin, you’re with me. Jeonghan, you’ll take Shua and the maknaes with you. Jun, Wonwoo, you’ll take the ‘97 liners.” There’s a scowl on Jihoon’s face, most likely not happy with the arrangement, but Seungcheol only smiles in retaliation. “You’ll live,” he says cheekily. “It shouldn’t take long to find her anyway.”</p><p>Jihoon’s scowl deepens, and Jeonghan takes the liberty of smoothing out the small wrinkle between his eyebrows.</p><p>The dagger to Soonyoung’s heart strikes again at Jihoon’s reaction. It’s obvious that he isn’t happy with the car arrangement, even more so that he isn’t happy being in a car with two of the loudest members of the group. Despite Jihoon’s distaste for them — for <em> him </em>— Soonyoung can’t quell his crush on the younger man, no matter how much he tries to. He knows they’re opposites, like fire and ice — quite literally — but that doesn’t stop him from trying.</p><p>An hour later finds them hitting the road in search of the witch. Although she’s said to be non-violent, Seungcheol advises that it’s best to be cautious. They pack themselves into three cars and when it’s time to leave, Jihoon ends up calling shotgun, muttering something to Seungcheol about not wanting to “interact with the annoying ones.” </p><p>Although it’s another dagger to his heart, Soonyoung decides not to say anything about it, not wanting to be more “annoying” than he apparently is. Beside him, Seokmin doesn’t seem to take it to heart, because the younger man pouts and bops the back of Jihoon’s head through the little hole of the headrest. Jihoon swats him away with a hiss and a glare towards Seungcheol that says, “I told you so,” but the eldest leader simply shakes his head and starts the engine. Soonyoung watches Jihoon face forward again, but there’s a subtle curl of his lips that tells him he’s not all that annoyed with the younger man’s actions.</p><p>Soonyoung’s heart cracks. Knowing that Jihoon had developed a soft spot for Seokmin, despite calling him out as one of the “annoying ones,” is enough for Soonyoung to feel as though Jihoon really doesn’t like him. He’s not sure what Seokmin had done to gain even just the slightest bit of Jihoon’s affections, but he’d damn well like to know. He’s not sure what he himself has done to make Jihoon dislike him so much, other than being “annoying.” He can’t do anything about it though, so he sinks back in his seat and fiddles with his cold fingers instead.</p><p>Amidst the one hour it takes for them to search for the witch, Soonyoung can’t help but keep glancing discreetly at Jihoon as he talks to Seungcheol. He looks pretty with his newly dyed silver hair ruffling through the wind where his window is rolled down, wispy strands making him look paler than he actual ly is. His petal pink lips are curled up as he chatters about something only he and Seungcheol can talk about, and while Soonyoung’s heart pangs when he realizes he probably won’t ever be the cause of such a pretty smile, he feels warmth blossom in his chest at the sight.</p><p>“What are you looking at?” Seokmin whispers beside him, nudging his arm with his.</p><p>“The view,” Soonyoung answers absentmindedly. He straightens up abruptly when he realizes what he just said, and he curses himself inwardly. His cheeks turn hot, but when he turns to Seokmin in panic, the younger man is only nodding and looking out the window into the landscape.</p><p>“Yeah, the view is beautiful,” Seokmin agrees obliviously, and Soonyoung doesn’t bother to correct him.</p><p>It’s late noon when they finally arrive at what seems to be the place. Oddly enough, the place is bright and lively, with stray animals eyeing them as the cars rumble by. Seokmin excitedly points out some squirrels who are grabbing some nuts from the ground, along with a few wild rabbits burrowing into holes. Jihoon doesn’t say anything, but Soonyoung can easily see the irritation on his face. He tries not to respond to Seokmin when the younger man shakes his shoulder fervently to point out all the different animals, but he manages to slip in a few hums and a nod of his head, because really — who can ignore Lee Seokmin?</p><p>Seungcheol stops the car, and Seokmin doesn’t waste any time climbing out to see all the animals. Soonyoung follows soon after, stretching his legs and rolling his neck around with a relieved sigh. There’s a faint scolding towards Seokmin that sounds a lot like Seungkwan, and he can’t help but chuckle a little. Leave it to Seungkwan to nag the members when needed.</p><p>“Why did those three need to come anyway?” he hears Jihoon complain behind him as he and Seungcheol open the trunk and rummage through their equipment. “They’re useless.”</p><p>It’s a little amazing how Soonyoung’s heart hasn’t bled out from the amount of daggers its taken today alone. He purses his lips and wills himself to swallow down the small ball of heat sitting in the base of his throat, trying not to mind the way his heart races with anxiety. He can’t slip up now, not when they have a mission to accomplish, and <em> especially </em>not when Jihoon would be right there to see him crumble. </p><p>“Be nice, Jihoon,” Seungcheol chides. “They’re part of our team. Now stop complaining. Deny it all you want but I know you have a soft spot for them. Soonyoung, come here and hold this.” He holds out a large, seemingly old book, and Soonyoung takes it into his hand. “See? He can be useful, Jihoon. Now let’s gather with the others so we can track this woman down.”</p><p>It’s not quite a dagger this time, but a simple pang to Soonyoung’s heart. Despite being one of the leaders of the team, it still hurts time and time again to be underestimated by the other two. Although Seungcheol and Jihoon were the first two to be enrolled in the program, he hadn’t followed too long after. In fact, he’d been the third to enroll just after they did, but it seems as though Seungcheol and Jihoon still can’t get past his frivolous personality, Jihoon especially.</p><p>“The coordinates where the rookies last saw her were somewhere around here,” Seungcheol says when they regroup with the others. “If we’re that lucky, we might be able to catch her still hanging around here.” He turns to Hansol with an encouraging smile. “Hansol, do you feel anyone’s frequency or wavelength — or whatever it is that you can sense?”</p><p>“Yes, hyung,” Hansol answers, looking around momentarily before shifting his body towards the dense forest in front of them. “It’s not a long way at all actually. Here, follow me.”</p><p>As they begun to walk on crunching leaves and broken twigs, Soonyoung has to keep his eyes on the back of Jihoon’s shoes to make sure he doesn’t trip and make a fool of himself, although it wouldn’t be the first time he’s done so in front of his crush. There are probably hundreds of memories he can recall of embarrassing himself in front of Jihoon, and he’d rather not have a repeat of any of those hundreds of memories. He's already embarrassing himself enough as it is, no need to add another memory under his belt.</p><p>Soonyoung tried to keep his breathing quiet as he keeps up the pace through the forest. Despite it being late noon, the sun had disappeared behind the massive tree leaves above them, leaving them under the shady, but dark cover of the forest. Although he’s always been a little more on the chilly side because of his powers, Soonyoung feels a shiver of uneasiness racking up his spine at how eerily calm the forest seems amidst the crunching of the leaves and twigs underneath their shoes. A dreaded feeling suddenly overcomes him, his heart beginning to race and his fingertips becoming cold.</p><p>Although Soonyoung trusts Hansol to lead the way, especially with the younger man’s powers — hyper senses — the atmosphere tells him he shouldn’t be too comfortable with his surroundings, even if he’s accompanied with his members. They trudge along for a while, with the occasional question from Jeonghan and Seungkwan asking Hansol if they’re almost there.</p><p>For the most part, they keep walking quietly until there’s a dip in temperature as they continue forward, and Hansol halts in his steps abruptly. The air feels as though it’s somewhat charged with <em> something </em>, and the hairs on the back of Soonyoung’s neck perk up at the chilling sensation around him. He has a bad feeling about this.</p><p>In front of them stands a woman wearing a red cloak, akin to that of Little Red Riding Hood. While she does look pretty, there’s a wicked smile on her cherry red lips that has Soonyoung’s heart racing even more than it has before. The charged air grows stronger, and it only takes Soonyoung half a second to realize it’s coming from her. She has a powerful aura surrounding her, and he instinctively takes a step closer behind Jihoon anxiously.</p><p>“Would it surprise you to know I’ve been expecting this type of encounter?” she asks with a coy smile. Her voice is oddly reminiscent of an echo, and Soonyoung feels another shiver rack down his spine.</p><p>Although he wants to know what the woman means by ‘expecting this type of encounter,’ he’s suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when Seungcheol calls his name.</p><p>“Soonyoung, the book!” Seungcheol orders frantically, his arm outstretched to him.</p><p>Soonyoung blinks and turns his head to look down at the book he’s still carrying. It takes him a moment to realize what Seungcheol wants him to do with it, and it isn’t until the eldest leader hisses his name again does he actually start moving. Flustered, he runs towards Seungcheol and hands the book to him, nearly tripping on the root of a tree on his way. He can faintly hear Jihoon’s groan and his cheeks warm up in embarrassment, cursing himself inwardly for making a fool of himself despite his determination not to. Adrenaline still pumps in his veins at the sudden rush.</p><p>He stands by Seungcheol as the leader opens the book and flips to a certain page, before pointing his finger on a line and chanting what seems to be Latin language. From what Soonyoung knows, the spell to strip someone of their powers doesn’t harm the person, but it does come with drawbacks to the person who performs the spell. Seungcheol can barely finish the passage he’s reading before the woman hisses abruptly.</p><p>“Silence!” she booms, throwing her hand out. A blazing white light emits from her hand, shaped like a boomerang, and it produces static like electricity does.</p><p>Soonyoung watches with horror as it hits Seungcheol like lightning, and the impact causes a white explosion to occur. He squeezes his eyes shut at the brightness that fills his vision. He doesn’t open them, not until he hears a soft buzzing next to him. When he opens his eyes to look at Seungcheol, all he can see is the leader’s mouth moving, but there’s no sound coming out of his mouth. His eyes are fierce, and Soonyoung can make out the look that says, “What the hell is going on?”</p><p>The woman shakes her hand out but her lips curl up wickedly, pleased. “Now,” she croons, straightening back up. “Does anyone else want a turn?”</p><p>Nobody moves. Nobody takes their eyes off the woman. Soonyoung has the sudden urge to hold his breath, but then he feels Seungcheol grip his arm and shake it. Turning to the leader, he can see his mouth moving again, but still no sound comes out.</p><p>“Hyung, we can’t hear you,” Soonyoung says softly. “She muted you.”</p><p>He doesn’t wait to hear — or rather, see — Seungcheol’s answer before Mingyu speaks up. “I’d rather not have a turn, but...if I may ask, why have you been muting people?”</p><p>“Because they've all been rejecting me!" she cries. "I muted them so I wouldn’t be able to hear it.” She shrugs as though it’s a normal thing.</p><p>A few, painfully awkward beats pass for a moment until Joshua speaks up. “So...you’ve been rejected — like, as in, romantically rejected?”</p><p>The woman nods and they all look at each other again, this time, in disbelief. Trouble in the love department definitely wasn’t what they were expecting.</p><p>When nobody says anything, she continues, “I know, I know — it’s crazy, right?” <em> Now they’re getting somewhere </em>— “I mean, can you believe the gall they have to reject someone as pretty as me?” — <em> or not. </em>“I know for a fact that I’m not ugly, so I don’t know why they keep rejecting me. I’m actually very friendly once you get to know me, but I guess there’s just something about me that gives off an unsettling vibe. Maybe they can sense how powerful I am and it makes them cautious.” She pouts. “Shame, really. I’ve been alive for almost two centuries now and yet I’ve never dated anyone.”</p><p>Soonyoung rolls his lips back to keep himself from laughing. From the corner of his eye, he can see Mingyu and Seokmin looking away from the woman awkwardly, and it makes the situation so much funnier than it should be. There’s a squeeze on his arm, a warning from Seungcheol, and he sobers up quickly, biting down hard on the inside of his cheek.</p><p>“So, like,” Minghao starts, scratching the back of his neck. “Have you always muted them when they tried to reject you?”</p><p>The woman scoffs. “No, I only started doing that after my fourth failed date. I was tired of hearing the lame apologies and getting constantly put aside in favor of some other girl,” she answers with a shrug, then pauses. “Of course, the side effects weren’t supposed to come with it, but I still have a lot to learn to control my powers.” She shrugs again. “Oh, well. They’ll just have to deal with it until I decide to lift the curse.</p><p>It falls into another awkward silence, all of them glancing at each other because none of them have any idea about what to say on the matter. The witch does, in fact, seem as friendly as she makes herself out to be, but she seems to be suffering from the Lack of Love Syndrome. Soonyoung can relate all too well.</p><p>Then, Jihoon starts cackling, and everyone turns their heads to look at him. His head is thrown back, eyes squeezed shut as he laughs with his whole body. His hands come up to clap loudly in front of him, before he wipes at the nonexistent tears from his eyes.</p><p>“So let me get this straight,” he breathes, straightening up. “You mean to tell us that you’ve been muting people — men — all because they’ve rejected you?” His voice is rough, turning harsher with each word he spits. “Are you joking right now? Maybe, just maybe, if you hadn’t muted those poor men, you’d actually be able to hear why they threw you aside for more favorable women!”</p><p>Soonyoung feels a nudge on his arm and when he turns to look at Seungcheol, the older man is gesturing to Jihoon with his lips, telling him to tell Jihoon to shut the fuck up. There’s a look of panic on his face as the woman’s eyes begin to glow slightly, but Jihoon keeps going. “Do you realize how much of a coward you sound? <em> Oh, boo-hoo, poor me can’t handle a simple rejection and realize that I’m the problem and not them.” </em><br/><br/>“Jihoon,” both Soonyoung and Jeonghan hiss in warning, but Jihoon ignores them. Soonyoung watches as the younger leader’s body begins to glow a slight orange, his fists glowing a dull red, all indications of <em> just </em>how pissed off he really is.</p><p>The energy around the woman begins to charge up again, and it makes the air around them crackle and pop like small fireworks. Although there’s no breeze in the forest at the moment, her hair begins whipping around behind her as though there is one. The chilling sensation comes raking down Soonyoung’s spine again.</p><p>Jihoon seems to be the only one who doesn’t get the warning, because he keeps going passionately, his short temper getting the best of him. “Maybe if you’d stop acting like such a scaredy cat, you’d actually find someone who wants to love your cold, tiny heart.”</p><p>Soonyoung tenses up as the air around them charges up even more. The woman’s fists clench where they lie by her sides, and a gleam flashes in her eyes. “My cold, tiny heart?” she says quietly, voice eerily calm. “Me? Well, let’s see how you like it.”</p><p>Another violent shiver racks through Soonyoung’s body as the charged air begins to crackle aggressively around them. Suddenly, there’s a loud pop, an abrupt puff of white smoke and a strike of lightning that makes all of them shut their eyes and hold their breaths.</p><p>Eventually, when Soonyoung is unable to hold his breath any longer, he lets out a cough and waves the smoke away from his face. Opening his eyes just a slit as the smoke begins to dissipate, he calls, “Is everyone okay?”</p><p> “Alive,” Chan replies, wiping at his eyes.</p><p>The first thing they notice when the smoke evaporates is that the woman has disappeared. Gone is her Little Red Riding Hood cloak, and gone is the static air that put all of them on edge. The second thing they notice is that Jihoon is nowhere to be found, as though he disappeared along with the woman. A sudden dreaded feeling overcomes Soonyoung as he looks around frantically.</p><p>“Jihoonie?” he questions, eyes wavering as he looks back and forth between his members. “Where did Jihoonie go?”</p><p>“Don’t tell me that woman took him,” Seungcheol’s voice comes, and everyone’s heads turn to look at the leader, who blinks at the sudden attention. “I — wait, can you guys hear me now? Oh, thank god. I thought I was gonna stay mute until we find her again.”</p><p>“What do you mean ‘now?’” Wonwoo questions. “You were mute ever since that woman threw that orb at you.”</p><p>Seungcheol sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. “I could hear myself talking,” he explains, “but I guess you guys couldn’t hear me. Anyway, at least we know why she’s doing what she’s doing, but we need to stop her before she keeps muting other people — er, other men, I mean.”</p><p>“Okay, before we do that, can we focus on the matter at hand right now?” Soonyoung asks, on the verge of panicking. “Where’s Jihoon?”</p><p>Like that, everyone seems to realize that Jihoon, in fact, hasn’t made an appearance yet. They all begin calling out his name loudly, and Seungkwan, Junhui, and Mingyu walk further into the woods to investigate. Soonyoung gnaws on his bottom lip as his head swivels left and right, worry swirling in his chest like a tornado. Oh, how much he wants to punch himself for not being able to confess to Jihoon in all those seven years they’ve known each other, because now it seems as though he’ll never get the chance to do so.</p><p>It isn’t until Hansol asks them to keep still does he feel a tiny spark of hope ignite in his chest. That’s right — Hansol, with his abnormal hyper senses and ability to track human frequencies within a mile away. That’s how they’d been able to track the woman so quickly in the first place, all thanks to Hansol’s power.</p><p>Everyone does as Hansol requests, staying put in their spots and not moving an inch. They watch as the young man walks around for a moment, mostly in the path of a wide circle that gradually begins to get smaller and smaller the more he walks. It isn’t until he stops and stares at the ground do they see his eyes widen.</p><p>Then, digging through a pile of leaves, he bends down and breaths, “Jihoonie-hyung?”</p><p>They’re all crowding around Hansol in the next second, heads gathered together in the smallest circle they can manage to peer at what Hansol is seeing. The sight surprises them greatly.</p><p>There Jihoon is, arms crossed and a fuming expression on his face. Eyebrows drawn tight together, his eyes glare up at them with nothing but pure distaste. He’s babbling something, nothing they can understand. Not only that, but he’s practically buck naked save for the diaper he’s wearing, because…he’s a baby. </p><p>A <em> real </em>baby.</p><p>“Jihoon?” Soonyoung breathes. </p><p>“Oh my god!” Seokmin shrieks, and there’s a visible wince on Jihoon’s face as he covers his ears. “He’s — He’s a — baby!”</p><p>Jihoon, seemingly oblivious to the fact that something has happened to him, continues babbling fiercely. His eyebrows are pulled tight, mouth scowling the whole time. His gestures are wild and frantic, hands glowing a dull red as he points and waves, <em> anything </em>to get an answer. Soonyoung’s heart squeezes at the sight.</p><p>“Jihoon, the witch — she’s turned you into a baby,” Seungcheol says, squatting down. “The woman must’ve put a spell on you just before she disappeared. We tried to warn you but you wouldn’t listen.”</p><p>Jihoon gapes at them in disbelief then, his whole body glowing a dull red. It becomes more vibrant within a few seconds, and everyone flinches as the pile of leaves he’s sitting on begins to crackle and spark beneath his butt. It doesn’t take long before a flame shoots up beneath the leaves, followed by another, then another.</p><p>“Shit, Soonyoung, put it out!” Seungcheol demands.</p><p>Jumping slightly at the order, Soonyoung raises his hand and tries to focus his energy on feeling imaginary water running on his fingertips. It takes a while, a long while actually, but water begins to gradually drip down from his fingers the more he concentrates. Much to his dismay, however, Jihoon only looks more irritated than before, moreso that Soonyoung had taken a long time rather than seeing his fire being put out by him. </p><p>“Sorry,” he whispers, feeling shame settle in his chest at the sight. He’d tried his best but he knows he needs to practice. <em> Lots </em>of practice.</p><p>“Shit,” Seungcheol curses, rubbing his hands over his face as he stands up. “What are we supposed to do? How are we supposed to find that woman now? The hard part is tracking her down, remember? That’s what the rookies said.”</p><p>Jeonghan gnaws on his bottom lip, standing up and placing a hand on Seungcheol’s shoulder. “Why don’t we worry about that later? For now, let’s just go back to the dorms and do some research. We need all the time we can if we don’t want Jihoon to stay like this forever. If we leave him alone like this, he’ll inevitably be put in more danger.”</p><p>“I kind of like him like this,” says Junhui with a cheshire cat grin. “He’s so cute!”</p><p>A small flame erupts abruptly from Jihoon’s body, the younger man no doubt ticked off by the comment. Junhui doesn’t seem to care, even going as far as to raise his hands up in mock surrender. He looks like he’s used to this. </p><p>“Point is, let’s take Jihoon back to the dorms so we can work on this case as quickly as possible, along with all the other cases,” Jeonghan says, a subtle smile curling at the end of his lips at Junhui’s comment. He’s amused. He looks at Soonyoung, raising an eyebrow. “Soons, bring Jihoon with you.”</p><p>Spluttering a little at the sudden order, Soonyoung tilts his head, gnawing on his lip nervously. “Why me?” he questions, glancing back at Jihoon discreetly only to find that that the baby is already glaring at him darkly. “Uh, hyung...I — I don’t think Jihoon really wants me to — ”</p><p>“You’re roommates,” says Jeonghan flatly. “Come on, you guys are gonna have to interact with each other sooner or later.”</p><p>Sighing, still feeling uncertain, Soonyoung hesitantly places his arms under Jihoon’s armpits. “You heard hyung, Jihoon,” he says, wincing when Jihoon’s glare doesn’t lessen in the slightest. “I’m sorry, but if you don’t wanna be left behind, I suggest you let me carry you so we can research for information as soon as possible. I promise I’ll be careful.”</p><p>It takes a minute, maybe two, before Soonyoung ultimately decides to just go for it and scoop Jihoon up into his arms, wincing when the baby lets out a shriek of surprise. Quickly, Soonyoung unzips his jacket halfway and tucks Jihoon inside the warm comfort, flinching when he’s met with Jihoon’s fists pounding against his shoulders in defiance.</p><p>Annoyed, he snaps, “Hey! That’s enough!”</p><p>The baby looks up at him, surprise clear on his face at the demand as though he hadn’t been expecting that to come out of Soonyoung’s mouth. Then again though, Soonyoung doesn’t remember the last time he’s scolded Jihoon, if he’s <em> ever </em>done such a thing.</p><p>Sighing, he supports Jihoon’s bottom through his jacket and says, “Look. I know you don’t like me, but if you want to sit here alone in the cold and darkness, then you can stay here.”</p><p>As ridiculous as it is, he levels Jihoon with a challenging stare and feels immensely satisfied when the baby gives him another mighty pout, lips puckered in defeat and cheeks puffed up. He stops whacking Soonyoung with his fists though, so Soonyoung considers this his first win. How cute.</p><p>Amidst their little one-sided argument, Seungcheol is trying his best to calm down the chaos still coming from his members, “Listen up! We’re not sure when this witch is going to lift this curse, but if it so happens there’s a deadline, then we have to find her quickly. If worst comes to worst, it’s possible that Jihoon may be stuck as a baby forever.”</p><p>In his arms, Soonyoung hears Jihoon let out a pitiful whine and his heart breaks. He bounces the baby gently, swaying back and forth in the hopes that it’ll calm him down. Surprisingly enough, Jihoon doesn’t seem to be complaining about the sudden movement.</p><p>“That won’t happen,” Jeonghan declares, marching over to Soonyoung and reaching out to pinch Jihoon’s cheeks. “We won’t let you be stuck as a baby, Jihoon-ah.”</p><p>Much to Soonyoung’s surprise — and Jeonghan’s — Jihoon fusses a little and whacks Jeonghan’s hand away from his face with a grunt. His puckered rosebud lips come back into an extreme pout, and he glares at Jeonghan with a scowl. Even as a baby, perhaps Jihoon still doesn’t like skinship.</p><p>Jeonghan gives Soonyoung a tight smile. “I wish you luck with him.”</p><p>Soonyoung sighs. “It’s okay, hyung. I’ve babysitted my niece and nephew before. Taking care of a baby should be no problem.”</p><p>“Alright then, let’s get a move on,” Seungcheol says loudly. “We’ll drop you two back to your place. Everyone else, we’ll meet at my dorm and devise a plan.”</p><p>“We need to get a few things for Jihoonie first,” Soonyoung claims before anyone can move. “If he’s going to be a baby for the time being, we’ll need to get him some diapers and baby safe foods for tonight. We can get more stuff later.”</p><p>Seungcheol nods affirmatively. “Let’s go back to the cars then.”</p><p>
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  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Originally, this baby fic wasn’t supposed to be a baby fic. It was actually supposed to be Jihoon somehow turning into a miniature size and Soonyoung has to help him deal with it until he turns back to normal, but then I thought Jihoon being turned into a baby would be even more funny and fluffy, so here it is~!</p><p>If I’m being honest, the powers really don’t have any purpose in this fic, lol. Maybe they do a little to get Jihoon to realize *some things* (I will not spoil it just yet.) I just thought it would be kind of cool, and it kinda shows the contrast between Soonyoung and Jihoon, huhu.</p><p>Anyway, let me know what you think of this concept, hehe. It’s gonna be a rollercoaster of just fluff and angst. </p><p>  <a href="https://twitter.com/mistehri">Twitter</a><br/><a href="https://curiouscat.qa/mistehri">Curious Cat</a></p><p>As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading! ❤</p>
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<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Little Trouble Maker</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Symptoms of babbling, screaming, tears and snot are not ideal.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This chapter is a little more crack and fluff than angst, huhuhu.</p><p>Enjoy reading! ❤</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seungcheol drives them to a local grocery store near their dorms while Soonyoung keeps Jihoon safe in his arms in the backseat to avoid any unwanted interactions with the cops. Jihoon had somehow fallen asleep while they’d been trekking their way back to the main road, and now he’s sleeping peacefully against Soonyoung’s chest, still cocooned in his jacket with his chubby cheek squished up against Soonyoung’s shirt and lips puckered in an unconscious pout. Poor baby must’ve been so exhausted.</p><p>“I just can’t believe he's letting you, of all people, hold him,” Seungcheol says, glancing at Soonyoung briefly from the rearview mirror. “Seokmin, quick. Go take a picture so we can tease Jihoon about it later.”</p><p>“Knock it off,” Soonyoung reprimands, a little ticked. “He’s not gonna appreciate that, hyung.”</p><p>Seungcheol only shrugs nonchalantly. “Just saying. This would be a good story to tell during Christmas get-togethers, y’know?”</p><p>Soonyoung doesn’t say anything although Seungcheol does make a good point. It <em> would </em>make a good story to tell during special occasions, but then again Jihoon absolutely despises it when people talk about him; something about how it’s too embarrassing to be talked about. Soonyoung can relate to that most of the time.</p><p>They pull into the parking lot of the grocery store, and Soonyoung lists all of the things at the top of his head he’ll need in order to take care of Jihoon. “Diapers,” he starts, looking down at the sleeping baby in his arms. “Maybe aged six or seven months? An assortment of baby food, some baby clothes, and baby wipes. Oh, and a pacifier and bib.”</p><p>Seokmin and Seungcheol share a snicker at the pacifier part but get out of the car to head inside the grocery store and get the items Soonyoung listed. Seungcheol leaves the engine running, leaving Soonyoung alone to watch over Jihoon.</p><p>In his arms, Jihoon stirs a little, rubbing his fists over his face weakly. Soonyoung holds his breath, hands tensing up where they’re supporting Jihoon’s body, but the baby only lets out a cute sigh and goes limp again, making an adorable huffing noise in his slumber. Soonyoung breathes out a sigh of relief, his hand coming up to tentatively run his hand through the soft black tuff of Jihoon’s hair.</p><p>Twenty minutes later finds Seungcheol and Seokmin coming back with two bags of the requested items. They drive back to their dorms, and the both of them carry in the bags to Soonyoung and Jihoon’s shared dorm while Soonyoung carefully carries Jihoon inside, ignoring the weird looks some students give them and the sudden anxiety in the pit of his chest.</p><p>The baby is rousing from his slumber when Soonyoung turns the lights on, and Seungcheol and Seokmin set the bags on the little kitchen table they own. Jihoon fusses a little bit, squirming around in Soonyoung’s jacket and twisting his head left and right, and the dancer pats his back soothingly to calm him down.</p><p>“Do you want us to stay? My dorm isn’t too far from yours,” Seungcheol offers, and Seokmin agrees, but Soonyoung declines the offer.</p><p>“Just work on the case for now,” he says. “We need to break whatever curse this is as soon as possible before Jihoon gets stuck as a baby forever. I’ll be fine taking care of him.”</p><p>Seungcheol and Seokmin look at each other and shrug. They both wish Soonyoung luck, patting Jihoon’s head on their way out, before departing and leaving the two of them alone. Soonyoung unzips his jacket once the door closes and pulls Jihoon out.</p><p>The first thing he does is lift Jihoon up to his nose to smell his diaper, and the baby lets out a high-pitched shriek, trying to kick at Soonyoung’s face as a futile attempt to get him to stop. His little fists begin to glow a dull red, sparks and electricity beginning to fly out. </p><p>Suspicions confirmed, Soonyoung quickly brings Jihoon back down to rest against his hip and walks over to rummage through the plastic bags for the diapers and wipes.</p><p>“You have a dirty diaper,” Soonyoung tells Jihoon as he trudges over to the couch. “I’m going to change you, okay?”</p><p>Jihoon lets out another ear splitting screech and struggles violently against Soonyoung’s hold, fists glowing even redder. He almost falls off the couch in his effort to get away from the dancer, but Soonyoung holds him in place by his tummy. The dancer tries to cool down Jihoon’s heat with his hand, hoping the baby has yet to produce actual <em> fire </em>to their dorm.</p><p>“Hey, stop it!” he scolds, trying to get Jihoon to quiet down so he won’t get reported to the RA. “You don’t want a dirty diaper, do you? If I don’t change it, you’ll get a diaper rash.”</p><p>In an attempt to get Jihoon to calm down, Soonyoung brushes his hand over his hair and jerks back when the baby turns his head and bites him. Granted, it doesn’t really hurt considering Jihoon has yet to grow teeth, but it still makes Soonyoung jerk back in surprise.</p><p>“Hey!” he scolds again, voice turning more stern. “Jihoon, stop being so childish!”</p><p>Jihoon lets out a cute little growl, murder flashing in his eyes and making them glow a dull orange. Soonyoung glares back at him fiercely, unperturbed because of Jihoon’s chubby cheeks and puckered lips. Had Jihoon not been turned into a baby, perhaps Soonyoung would’ve been scared to death by his glare alone, but alas, the effect is sort of ruined by his cute face.</p><p>Sighing, Soonyoung pats Jihoon’s belly twice and runs a hand through his hair. “Let’s try this again, hmm? If I don’t change your diaper, you’re really gonna regret it, Jihoonie. I promise you’ll feel a lot better afterwards, okay? How does that sound?”</p><p>Jihoon lets out a loud huff and balls his hands into tiny little fists again, his mouth puckered into a mighty pout. He’s truly adorable in this state.</p><p>“Look,” Soonyoung starts, opening up the baby wipes and unwrapping the diaper readily. “I have experience in changing diapers and taking care of babies, okay? It’s nothing new to me. I’ll be super duper quick and try not to look as much as possible, okay?”  </p><p>Soonyoung doesn’t have a single clue on whether or not Jihoon can actually understand him, but he sure hopes so or he’ll look like an idiot, which he's been told countless times he is already. Most of the time, he doesn’t really take it to heart but when it comes from Jihoon and Seungcheol, it’s like an arrow to his chest. It hurts to be underestimated, but Soonyoung guesses they have a good reason to, especially when he still has yet to be in full control of his powers.</p><p>He pats Jihoon’s belly again and flinches when the baby kicks his hand away angrily. Soonyoung narrows his eyes, now getting a little ticked off by Jihoon’s behavior.</p><p>“It’s your choice, Jihoonie,” he says, scowling. “You can take the easy way or the hard way. If you’re gonna throw a tantrum then go ahead. It’s not going to faze me in the slightest. We can do this all day.” </p><p>Jihoon gazes up at Soonyoung darkly, his pout coming back. It isn’t long until he breaks their staring contest and his face begins twisting into a look of utter discomfort. Tears begin welling in his eyes and he starts kicking his legs again, a cry beginning to bubble at the back of his throat.</p><p>“See?” Soonyoung asks gently, finally softening his firmness. “It doesn’t feel very nice, does it?” </p><p>Before Jihoon can make any sort of response or acknowledgement that he’s heard Soonyoung, the dancer quickly undresses Jihoon from the diaper and pulls it off. The baby lets out a shriek of surprise and tries rolling away again, but Soonyoung grabs both his ankles in one hand and raises them up in the air, his other hand reaching for the pack of wipes. Jihoon’s cheeks are bright red with embarrassment and he rolls his head to the side, unable to look the dancer in the eye.</p><p>Soonyoung cleans him up as quick as he can and manages to fit in the fresh diaper underneath him all in the span of two minutes. He wraps Jihoon up snug tight and smiles victoriously as he bundles up the dirty diaper.</p><p>“See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asks, but Jihoon pointedly ignores him in favor of glaring at the couch cushions. “Don’t move now. I’ll get you some pajamas and throw this away.”</p><p>Soonyoung gets off the couch quickly and throws the diaper in the trash can, then comes back with a onesie. It’s white with a picture of a sergeant’s hat that says “Commander Poops-A-Lot” around it. It’s fitting considering what they just went through, but Jihoon either doesn’t see it or doesn’t care to make a fuss when Soonyoung dresses him up and snaps the fasteners closed.</p><p>“Good?” he questions though he doesn’t get a coherent reply in return.</p><p>Soonyoung grabs the three pillows strewn about on the floor — a result of Jihoon being a fussy sleeper even in his adult years — and tucks it around the baby so he doesn’t fall off the couch. Soonyoung walks over to the dining table and rummages through the plastic bags again, retrieving the bib and a jar of chicken and gravy flavored baby food.</p><p>“Who’s hungry?” he asks with a coo as he comes back to the couch with the items in hand and a spoon. He sets Jihoon sitting upright and fastens the bib around his neck, then opens up the jar and gets a nice helping of <em> yuck. </em>“Wanna eat? Open up.”</p><p>Jihoon twists his head away and ends up getting a glob of chicken and gravy on his cheek. Soonyoung sighs and lifts his bib to clean off the smear. “Come on, dinner time. You’re probably hungry, aren’t you?” </p><p>Jihoon turns his face away when Soonyoung tries again, and the dancer sighs in retaliation. “You’re such a pain, you know?”</p><p>Jihoon turns to glare at him, mouth opening to babble angrily at him, but Soonyoung sees his chance to shove a spoonful of chicken and gravy in his mouth. Jihoon gags and tries to spit it out, but Soonyoung pinches his lips shut firmly until he’s forced to swallow, resulting in Jihoon crying out in frustration.</p><p>Soonyoung shushes him gently, feeling a little guilty as he wipes Jihoon’s mouth of spit and gravy. “I’m sorry. I know it doesn’t taste good but if you eat grown up food, it’ll hurt your tummy. You need to eat this for now.”</p><p>Jihoon cries harder at that, face scrunched up and bright red with frustration. He starts waving his fists in the air, batting Soonyoung’s hand away when the dancer tries to feed him another spoonful.</p><p>“Come on, just one more,” he tries to coax, but Jihoon smacks the spoon out of his hand, making it clatter onto their wooden floor. He sighs in defeat. “Okay then. We can try again in the morning. I just hope your stomach won’t be too upset during the night.”</p><p>Soonyoung gets up from the couch after making sure Jihoon is secure tucked between the pillows and cushions, then makes his way to the kitchen. Even if Jihoon doesn’t have the appetite for anything at the moment, <em> he </em>sure does. He closes the baby food jar and places it in their mini fridge, tossing the spoon in the sink as he does so. </p><p>After finishing, he grabs a cup of instant ramen and splashes in some water and the seasoning, then throws the container into the microwave for two minutes. It isn’t the most desirable of meals right now, but it’s all they have other than leftovers, and he isn’t in the mood to put in effort into anything else.</p><p>After the ramen is done, Soonyoung sticks a fork in the container and sets it on the coffee table where Jihoon is sitting next to. After having second thoughts, he turns around to grab a SunnyD from their mini fridge, popping off the cap and taking a long, slow sip.</p><p>When he turns back around, Jihoon has somehow managed to stretch across the arm of the couch and grab at the fork, clumsily trying to shovel in some noodles into his tiny mouth.</p><p>Soonyoung nearly has a heart attack.</p><p>“No!” he cries, running quickly and snatching the fork out of Jihoon’s hand, resulting in a shriek of outrage from the baby. “No eating! This will hurt your tummy!”</p><p>Jihoon lets out another wail, a strand of noodle hanging from his slobbering mouth as his face twists with frustration. </p><p>“I’m sorry, but this is for your own good, Jihoonie,” Soonyoung sighs, running a hand through his hair and sitting down next to Jihoon. “Look, we’ll get you something baby safe for you tomorrow, okay? And unless you want to eat the chicken and gravy, then I suggest you’ll have to wait for a bit.”<br/><br/>He turns on the TV as Jihoon continues crying, and he starts ignoring him until he hears his whimpers tapering off. When he turns his head to look tentatively at the baby, Jihoon is already rubbing his fists against his drooping eyes, head lolling forward a little.</p><p>“Sleepy?” Soonyoung questions, endeared at the sight. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”</p><p>Jihoon makes a noise in the back of his throat, something akin to a gurgle and a coo, as Soonyoung places his near empty cup of instant ramen on the coffee table and hikes Jihoon up into his arms. He carries the baby into their shared bedroom, deciding he’ll clean up his mess after he manages to put Jihoon to sleep.</p><p>Soonyoung lays Jihoon onto his bed, pulling the sheets from underneath him and tucking a few pillows around the border so he won’t roll off in the middle of the night. </p><p>It’s been a long day, but his exhaustion is probably nothing compared to what Jihoon is feeling right now, and he feels a little apologetic though he’s amused. </p><p>Deciding it would be best to lay with Jihoon in case anything happens, Soonyoung makes himself comfortable on top of the border of pillows he’s created and faces the baby.</p><p>“Sleep now, Jihoonie,” he whispers, reaching out to flick off Jihoon’s bedside lamp. He settles himself back in his position and strokes through the tufts of Jihoon’s fuzzy hair. “I’ll be here if you need anything, okay? Goodnight.”</p><p>Jihoon makes himself comfortable, stirring and kicking a little. Within a few minutes though, Jihoon falls limp, breathing evening out. Soonyoung watches him sleep for a moment, still in disbelief that this is really happening, before he follows Jihoon into dreamland, his mess in the living room long forgotten as he drifts off into sleep. </p><p> </p><p><br/>—</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>Jihoon wakes up to a painful sensation stabbing him in his stomach, and the first thing he does is let out a loud, gurgling cry into the near pitch black dorm of theirs. He freezes upon hearing the sound.</p><p>
  <em> The fuck was that? </em>
</p><p>Then it all comes back to him. Right. He’s been turned into a baby.</p><p>Twisting his head, Jihoon can see that he’s thankfully lying in his own bed. Another twist of his head, and he lets out another gurgled sound at the sight of Soonyoung’s sleeping face next to his. Memories of Soonyoung changing his diaper, wiping his ass, comes back to him, and Jihoon can feel his face turning hot at the thought of it.</p><p>Another stabbing sensation presents itself in his stomach again and he lets out another gurgled wail of pain, feeling tears spring into his eyes at the force of it. Beside him, Soonyoung stirs awake at the sound and braces himself on his elbow, looking down at him with droopy eyes.</p><p>“What’s wrong, Jihoonie?” he questions groggily, voice husky and deep. Jihoon only waves his fists in the air and kicks his feet in annoyance when another wave of pain crashes over his stomach. “Are you hungry?”</p><p>“My stomach hurts,” Jihoon complains, but it only comes out as a wet, incoherent babble. “It’s fucking killing me. Make it stop.”<br/><br/>Despite his desperate pleas, Soonyoung doesn’t seem to understand what’s wrong. Instead, the dancer splays his hand over Jihoon’s forehead to check his temperature, a frown marring his face and a tired sigh slipping from his lips. Jihoon taps against his fat tummy insistently, and that’s when the realization seems to finally hit Soonyoung.</p><p>“Is your tummy hurting?” he asks, voice a mere coo. Jihoon can’t bring himself to grumble about his tone when another wave of pain hits him. He whines in affirmation instead, tapping his fists against his belly again. “I told you that grown up food isn’t good for you, didn’t I?”</p><p>“Thanks, Captain Obvious,” Jihoon snarls in annoyance, only to whimper again at the pain.</p><p>Soonyoung places a cool hand on his stomach, and Jihoon is ever so grateful that it relieves the pain momentarily. He almost sighs with relief.<br/><br/>Clicking his tongue softly, Soonyoung stands up and picks Jihoon up into his arms, supporting his head with his hand. “I don’t have any baby safe medicines,” he murmurs guiltily as he begins bouncing Jihoon gently, pacing around the room. “We’ll go tomorrow and get something, but it’s too late at this time of night. No stores are open right now.”</p><p>Jihoon absolutely hates that Soonyoung is bouncing him, but he’s in so much pain that he can’t really find it in himself to care. He cries out weakly, feeling the pain flare up a little with every bounce, but Soonyoung keeps going, humming under his breath as he continues pacing around the room. </p><p>They pace and pace for what seems like forever until Soonyoung gets tired and lays them both back down on Jihoon’s bed. Soonyoung curls up next to him, placing his cold hand back on Jihoon’s tummy and rubbing soothingly, still humming under his breath. Jihoon tries to focus on Soonyoung’s hand, but his ears gradually begin to tune in to what the dancer is humming.</p><p>
  <em> Why does that sound familiar…? </em>
</p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>“As if nothing happened</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>I told myself that this is all a dream</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>When I lose my eyes and open them again</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>I wanted to wake up with relief…”</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>It’s only when Soonyoung’s humming switches to quiet singing does Jihoon realize why it sounds familiar. That’s <em> his </em> song, a song he produced in private when he’d been feeling particularly upset one night. He vowed never to let anyone listen to it, and he <em> knows </em>he never let anyone listen to it…</p><p><em> So why does this dimwit know it? </em> Jihoon thinks, feeling another ball of heat rise inside him. <em> How does he know what it sounds like? What the hell?! </em></p><p>He starts babbling again, anything to vent to Soonyoung how mad he is, but the dancer doesn’t seem to catch onto his negativity. He keeps singing softly, his eyes drooping again as he continues rubbing at Jihoon’s stomach soothingly. </p><p>“You know,” Soonyoung murmurs, stopping his singing for a moment. “You let everyone else listen to your songs, Jihoonie. You let everyone hear all those beautiful melodies and lyrics you create...you let everyone listen to your masterpieces...everyone except me.”</p><p>Jihoon gradually falls quiet, peering up at the dancer as he speaks. <em> Where is he going with this? </em></p><p>“I hear you singing when you stay up late and think I’m not sleeping,” continues Soonyoung, drawing patterns on Jihoon’s onesie. “I know I shouldn’t have, but...your songs are really beautiful, Jihoonie. I would listen again if I could. I always ask if I could hear your songs, but...you always get mad at me for some reason.”</p><p>Soonyoung’s eyes open again, and he brings his hand up to rub over the tuft of hair on Jihoon’s head. His lips curl up, but Jihoon has a feeling his smile isn’t very happy.</p><p>“But you let everyone else listen to your songs when they ask,” he goes on, letting out a sigh. He stops petting at Jihoon’s body and lays on his back instead, staring mindlessly up at the ceiling. “You let Seungcheol-hyung listen, you let Junnie listen, even Hao...but it’s never me.” His voice grows quiet, pained. “What does everyone else have that I don’t?”</p><p>The words Jihoon wants to say get stuck at the back of his throat at the last part. A sudden, horrible feeling overcomes him, his stomachache long forgotten.</p><p>“Sometimes I feel hurt when you and Cheol-hyung underestimate me, you know?” Soonyoung says suddenly, pouting as he speaks. “I feel like I have so much more to offer than what I can give, but then...I realize you both have a pretty good reason to be underestimating me.” He lets out a bitter laugh and turns on his side, facing Jihoon again. </p><p>“I don’t even have full control over my powers,” he whispers. Jihoon hopes he’s only imagining the gloss over Soonyoung’s eyes. “Everyone else can control their powers perfectly fine, but...here I am, a fully grown adult...struggling just to get the tiniest drop of water into a glass. I wouldn’t be surprised if even you could control your powers in your baby form.” </p><p>He raises his hand and stares at it, and Jihoon can just barely make out the little droplet of water sliding down from the tip of his pointer finger. It’s sad, really, and Soonyoung seems to agree.</p><p>“I don’t know what to do,” Soonyoung whispers, hand flopping to rest on his stomach. His eyes are welling with tears. “I feel pathetic. I can’t even make a fucking ice cube. I don’t want to give up. I really don’t, but...I can feel the fight leaving me. I’m so tired.”</p><p>A soft babble leaves Jihoon’s lips without his permission. He isn’t sure what he’s trying to say himself. He tries to convince himself Soonyoung’s emotions are just projecting onto him. Yes, that has to be the correct explanation.</p><p>Soonyoung lets out a wet chuckle and rubs his hand over Jihoon’s belly again. “I don’t know why I’m telling you this,” he says quietly, using his other hand to wipe at his face, “but at least you can’t understand me, right? Maybe you’ll be a good outlet, hmm?”</p><p>Jihoon doesn’t like the sound of that.</p><p>“Just kidding,” Soonyoung laughs it off, though it sounds fake. “I shouldn’t do that. You should sleep now, Hoonie. It’s getting late.”</p><p><em> Hoonie? </em> Jihoon thinks to himself. <em> It’s been a long time since he’s called me that…</em></p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>“Our past that didn’t line up</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>If I can go back in time…”</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>Really, Soonyoung doesn’t have too terrible a voice. It’s unique actually, a little nasally though he manages to hit the notes with untrained breath. Jihoon finds himself staring at Soonyoung’s face as the dancer sings, feeling oddly comforted by his voice. He’s so used to hearing Soonyoung laughing and yelling, but this is...a different side of Soonyoung he’s never seen before.</p><p> </p><p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>“Rather than roughly, but warmly</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Would I be able to let you go?”</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>The pain in his stomach begins to subside under Soonyoung’s cool hand, and Jihoon finds himself examining the expanse of Soonyoung’s face, from his tear-stained cheeks to the aching smile on his lips.</p><p>The sky is beginning to gradually lighten by the time the pain goes away completely, and Jihoon can’t believe Soonyoung sacrificed his sleep just to sing to him. He feels a little guilty, but as he continues to listen to Soonyoung sing, he finds his chest feeling a little warm as the darkness welcomes him with open arms.</p><p> </p><p> —</p><p> </p><p><br/>It’s only a few hours later does Jihoon wake up again. The sun shines through the curtains when he rouses from his slumber, and he lets out a small noise as the heat wakes him up even further, giving him energy. Oh, how lucky he is to have been blessed with fire powers.<br/><br/>He turns his head to the side and sees Soonyoung fast asleep, his dark hair curled and strewn about on the pillows and his lips pushed into an unconscious pout. He looks so peaceful like that. After making him stay up last night just to put him to sleep, Jihoon would’ve preferred letting Soonyoung sleep in a little more, but his tummy starts stubbornly rumbling with hunger, and before he can stop himself, he lets out a loud whine.</p><p>Jihoon watches as Soonyoung stirs in his sleep, eyebrows furrowing and eyes opening blearily. “Good morning,” he mumbles roughly, still sounding as though he hasn’t had a good night’s sleep. Jihoon feels guilty. “How’s your tummy? Do you feel better?”</p><p>Jihoon lets out a coo of affirmation, and though Soonyoung still looks like he wants to close his eyes, he manages to give Jihoon a sleepy, lopsided smile.</p><p>
  <em> Cute. </em>
</p><p>“Let’s dress you up and then we can go out, okay?” Soonyoung hums, rubbing at his eyes before slipping his hands under Jihoon’s armpits and lifting him into his arms. “Poor baby, you’ve been waiting to eat since last night. I’m sorry. We can look for some baby safe foods for you while we’re out. How does that sound?”</p><p>Jihoon can only reply with another coo of approval, and Soonyoung smiles brighter. <em> Huh.  </em></p><p>Soonyoung changes Jihoon’s diaper again — to which Jihoon is still mortified but puts up with it  — and gets him dressed in a blue onesie with the words “I have come from heaven to cause chaos and destruction. Love me” printed on it, decorated with a little cute baby face on the side. Overall, the whole process is less messy than yesterday, but Jihoon can still feel his body burning with embarrassment when Soonyoung undresses him.</p><p>After his diaper has been changed, Soonyoung carries him into the kitchen and straps the bib around his neck. He hikes him up his hip and rummages through the plastic bags still sitting on the dining table.</p><p>“What should we go for this time?” he questions, grabbing each jar of baby food one by one and laying them out on the table. </p><p>“Anything else as long as it’s not that gravy shit again,” Jihoon grumbles, but his words come out as a series of weird baby noises instead.</p><p>“We have peas,” Soonyoung starts, and Jihoon thinks he can feel bile rising in his stomach. “There’s sweet potato, carrots, green beans, apples…”</p><p>Jihoon lets out an abrupt loud babble at that, leaning forward to tap his fist insistently against the apple jar eagerly. Soonyoung chuckles and picks up the chosen baby food, walking back into the kitchen and sitting him up on the counter. He opens the jar of baby food and spoons out a nice helping of applesauce.</p><p>“Here comes the airplane!” Soonyoung croons ridiculously, even making a <em> verrr </em>sound effect as he feeds the baby. “Mmm! Tasty, right?”</p><p>Jihoon almost rolls his eyes, but that would look too suspicious of him. He entertains Soonyoung instead, even snorting at the ridiculous faces the dancer pulls at him as he gets fed. He’s never really taken notice of it, but Soonyoung actually has a nice laugh when he’s not so damn hyper all the time. It’s high-pitched and squeaky and...it oddly reminds Jihoon of a dolphin.</p><p>While the apple is a hundred times better than the mushy glob he’d been fed last night, the texture is still nasty, but Jihoon only puts up with it for the sake of his grumbling stomach and Soonyoung’s endless amount of silly faces.<br/><br/>Once Jihoon is done eating the whole jar of baby food, Soonyoung makes his own breakfast that includes a cup of Yoplait and a small banana. It’s not much but they’re college students, so it’s reasonable.</p><p>Once Soonyoung is done eating and entertaining Jihoon while doing so, he does his morning routine and changes into some new clothes. He hikes Jihoon up his hip when he’s finished, grabbing his key card and wallet on his way out.</p><p>“We can finally do some shopping and get you some things,” Soonyoung says when he locks their dorm room. “It’d be easier for me if I had a baby sling, but you’re just gonna have to be on your best behavior for now, okay?” He boops Jihoon’s nose with an endeared grin.</p><p>Jihoon almost snorts, glaring up at the dancer in annoyance. He can’t believe Soonyoung has the gall to boop him on the nose.</p><p>He wraps his chubby arms around Soonyoung’s neck and leans up against his chest, trying to ignore the fact that Soonyoung is supporting his weight under his butt. Soonyoung presses the button for the elevator and steps back, humming Jihoon’s song under his breath.</p><p>Right.</p><p>Jihoon stares up at Soonyoung’s face, his mind beginning to run.</p><p><em> What exactly did you mean when you said you were tired? </em> he questions silently to himself. <em> Tired of what? How long have you been feeling this way? </em></p><p>He’s too much of a coward to ask aloud. Not that he can anyway.</p><p>While they wait for the elevator doors to open, Jihoon accidentally catches a whiff of Soonyoung’s scent. It’s warm and nice and lovely, and he smells like cozy blankets and coffee. Soonyoung is rubbing his back absentmindedly, probably out of habit, and Jihoon slowly relaxes into him. He’s never had this much attention focused on him in such a long time and he has to admit it’s quite nice. He could get used to this.</p><p>The doors of the elevator finally slide open, but the shaft isn’t empty. There’s a girl inside, holding textbooks. She’s probably the same year as them but Jihoon has never seen her around before.</p><p>“Oh, good morning, oppa!” she chirps, and Soonyoung dips his head respectfully before stepping in just as the doors slide closed behind him. Jihoon sees her eyes flicker to his in surprise, no doubt shocked that there’s a fucking <em> baby </em>in Soonyoung’s arms now.</p><p>For a moment, his mind boggles. </p><p><em> She’s younger than I thought, </em> he thinks, looking at Soonyoung for some sort of explanation as though the dancer would be able to understand him. <em> Who is this woman?  </em></p><p>“Good morning, Minji,” Soonyoung greets back politely.</p><p>“And who is this cutie patootie?” Minji coos, reaching out to pinch Jihoon’s cheek.</p><p>“Whoa, hey! Fuck off!” Jihoon squeals, kicking a little in Soonyoung’s arms and batting away Minji’s hand away from his face.</p><p>Minji looks at Soonyoung curiously. “Is he yours?”</p><p>Soonyoung smooths a hand over Jihoon’s head to calm him down, and the baby finds himself relaxing at the touch. “This is my nephew. I’m just babysitting him until his parents come back from vacation,” Soonyoung says smoothly, tucking JIhoon’s face into his neck to keep him from getting agitated.</p><p>Before Minji can retort any further, the elevator doors fortunately slide open to what seems to be her floor.</p><p>“Well, this is me,” she says, giving Soonyoung a bright smile and a wave. “Bye!” She pats Jihoon’s head on her way out, which earns her a scowl from the baby, then the doors slide shut.</p><p>“The fuck was that?” Jihoon babbles angrily to Soonyoung. “Who gave her fucking permission to touch me?”</p><p>Soonyoung smiles down at him in amusement, probably wondering what he’s saying through his series of babbles. “Shhh,” he soothes, pressing his lips against Jihoon’s forehead. “Someone’s a little talkative.”</p><p>Jihoon falls silent, freezing. <em> Did he just kiss me…? </em></p><p>His thoughts are interrupted when the elevator doors slide open again, signaling it’s time for them to exit the elevator. Soonyoung carries Jihoon out the doors, ignoring the weird looks people give them as they walk past. Jihoon has the sudden urge to tuck his face back in Soonyoung’s neck and hide away from their prying eyes, but he doesn’t. He trains his eyes on Soonyoung’s face instead.</p><p>Soonyoung starts humming Jihoon’s song under his breath again as they make their way to the bus stop, and by then, Jihoon is already feeling a little drowsy from the dancer’s rhythmic steps. His head is lolling on Soonyoung’s shoulder, eyes still trained on him.</p><p>It’s terribly bright out but it’s not too hot. It’s warm and a little breezy, and though everyone thinks otherwise, this type of weather is one of his favorite types. </p><p>The sun is illuminating Soonyoung from behind, giving his dark hair a nice shine and shadowing most of his features. His white sweater brings out the redness of his cheeks, the dancer probably not used to such heat considering his ice powers. Soonyoung notices Jihoon looking at him and gives him another endeared smile.</p><p>“What do you think we should get first?” he asks. “Clothes? Food? Maybe we should get you a baby sling first, but...I’m not sure I have enough money for it. Broke college student life, right?”</p><p>Jihoon only makes a noise akin to a coo and a hum, not quite sure whether he’s agreeing or answering. </p><p>The bus arrives moments later, and Soonyoung takes a seat at the very back with a sigh of relief. Jihoon feels a little guilty but it’s not his fault he’s a heavy baby. He doesn’t recall being this chubby in baby photos and he supposes he’ll have to investigate his baby photos when he’s turned back into an adult.</p><p>As if he’s some sort of magnet, an old woman sits down next to them on the next stop and gives Jihoon an old, wrinkly smile.</p><p>“Oh, what a cute baby,” she coos, reaching out to try and take Jihoon’s hand.</p><p>Jihoon lets out a shriek, hands fisting into Soonyoung’s sweater reflexively. The other passengers looking at them in surprise, but he could care less about them. Why the hell do people keep trying to touch him?!</p><p>“Sorry, ahjumma-ssi,” Soonyoung says, a little awkwardly as he subtly shifts away from the old woman. “He’s, uh, not very affectionate.” </p><p>Jihoon gives the old woman the best glare he can manage, feeling himself relax more and more as Soonyoung smooths a hand over his back to calm him down. The old lady simply clicks her tongue and crosses both her arms and legs, as though she’s actually annoyed by that.</p><p>They miraculously get off a few stops later at the nearest grocery store, and if Jihoon could, he’d curse the old lady out, respect be damned. Soonyoung is quick to get them off the bus though, so he doesn’t know whether or not to be grateful. The dancer navigates them through the parking lot and grabs a cart, lifting Jihoon into the little compartment made especially for babies.</p><p>“Comfy?” Soonyoung asks as he navigates the cart into the store, sighing in relief as the cool air hits his face.</p><p>Jihoon coos at him again, the only way he knows how to express his emotions. Soonyoung seems to get the message though, because he gives Jihoon another cute smile and leans down to nose him.</p><p>Jihoon feels all the blood rush to his face at the gesture, his nose tingling from Soonyoung’s gentle brush. </p><p>“You’d probably whack me if I told you this when you’re an adult, but you’re so cute, Jihoonie,” Soonyoung says, breaking their eye contact as he drives the cart towards the baby section.</p><p>The blood in Jihoon’s face doesn’t leave, but he forgets about his embarrassment when Soonyoung steers the cart through the racks of onesies and baby clothes. The dancer rummages through the racks for a moment before pulling out a white baby onesie that says “Made in VaChina” with a barcode in the middle. He snickers and flips it around to show Jihoon.</p><p>“What do you think of this one? Too much?”</p><p>“Damn right,” Jihoon grunts, leaning forward to knock the onesie out of Soonyoung’s hand and onto the floor. </p><p>Soonyoung chuckles and picks it back up to stash away. “Reasonable.”</p><p>The next onesie Soonyoung pulls out is printed with the words “don’t touch me, peasant” on it, and, okay, Jihoon has to admit that the phrase is terribly accurate to what he’d most likely say as an adult. Soonyoung puts it in the cart and continues strolling it through the aisles.</p><p>Soonyoung pulls out a few more onesies he finds cute and amusing, and when Jihoon doesn’t make any move to protest against them, he adds them to the collection and continues strolling around. </p><p>“Oh, how about this one?” Soonyoung asks, pulling out a horrendous onesie that says “I like sucking things, thumbs, and titties.”</p><p>Jihoon levels him with a dark look and the best scowl he can muster.</p><p>Soonyoung only laughs at his face but ultimately — and thankfully — decides to stow it away. He continues browsing for what seems like a long time, but then he gasps in delight and pulls out a full-bodied <em> koala </em>onesie. It’s even complete with a hood with ears and a stubby koala tail. Jihoon lets out a shrill scream the moment he sees it and leans over to attempt to swat it out of Soonyoung’s hand, but Soonyoung prances out of his reach with a cackle.</p><p>“We are <em> so </em>getting this,” he says in delight, adding it to the small mound of baby clothes.</p><p>“I swear to god, Soonyoung, I will kill you if you don’t put it back this instant!” Jihoon yells, banging his fists against the cart railing. Soonyoung simply pushes his finger against Jihoon’s lips and shushes him with a gentle coo, looking proud of himself.</p><p>Jihoon pouts mightily while Soonyoung continues his endeavors of searching for baby items, adding in a 3-pack set of bibs, a pack of socks, and a cute beret.  </p><p>Somehow, Soonyoung manages to find another full-bodied onesie, this time a cat onesie, and he grins victoriously as though he’s discovered a national treasure. Like the koala onesie, it’s complete with a hood with cat ears and a long white tail. </p><p>“Isn’t this cute?” Soonyoung coos, but Jihoon simply glares at him. “Come on. It’s so warm and soft. Feel.” He rubs the fabric against Jihoon’s face but Jihoon leans away with a huff. Soonyoung just chuckles and adds it to the cart before they finally get out of the jungle of clothes.</p><p>Soonyoung picks up a few packs of diapers, some baby safe snacks, a bottle of baby shampoo, a small baby bathtub, and a baby sling on his way towards the cash register. Jihoon feels absolutely horrible when he hears what the total amounts to, but Soonyoung pays for it all without complaining. Jihoon vows to himself to pay Soonyoung back when he’s fully grown again, but for now, they’re faced with a different dilemma.</p><p>How are they going to get back to the dorms with three bags worth of baby items? Soonyoung still has to carry him.</p><p>Soonyoung places the cart near the return section and places his hands on his hips, glancing at the bags still sitting in the cart. </p><p>“Okay, how are we gonna do this?” he mutters under his breath. “Ah!”</p><p>Jihoon watches, twisting his head to look as Soonyoung grabs the baby sling from one of the bags and latches it on his body, pulling at it to make sure it’s secure. Then he rips off the tag and throws it away in a nearby trash can. He looks at Jihoon with a proud grin.</p><p>“Into the sling you go,” he says, swooping Jihoon from the cart and placing him into the sling.</p><p>The sling is surprisingly comfortable, and Jihoon finds himself leaning comfortably against Soonyoung’s chest, his feet dangling out from the bottom.</p><p>“Comfortable?” asks Soonyoung, squeezing Jihoon’s feet affectionately. Jihoon only coos again, liking his position. He could probably fall asleep like this, a luxury he almost never had as an adult.</p><p>With the sling out of the way, there’s only two bags left for Soonyoung to carry, one filled with the baby bathtub and shampoo, and the other bag filled with baby clothes. Although it still seems heavy, Soonyoung carries them the whole way back to the bus stop. Upon seeing the sweat rolling down Soonyoung’s face, Jihoon wishes he had Soonyoung’s ice powers to cool him off. </p><p>The journey back to Soonyoung’s apartment seems a lot slower with the two bags Soonyoung still has to carry. By the time they make it back on the campus, Jihoon is shifting restlessly in the sling, feeling pricks and needles poking his legs as his eyes begin to droop.</p><p>“Is someone sleepy?” Soonyoung asks gently as they get into the elevator again. “We’re almost there, baby.”</p><p>The nickname doesn’t register in Jihoon’s brain until they’re in the comfort of their dorm again. Soonyoung sets the bags on the dining table with the other bags he has yet to stow away, letting out a sigh of relief as he’s liberated from the ache in his arms. He doesn’t take a break yet though, instead taking Jihoon into their room and bringing him out of the sling to set him down on his bed. </p><p>Jihoon is so tired that he doesn’t put up much of a fight when Soonyoung changes his diaper again and dresses him up in one of the new onesies they’ve gotten. He doesn’t make much of a fuss when Soonyoung draws the curtains and tucks pillows around his little body again. He’s too tired to do anything, and he can only imagine how Soonyoung feels considering all the carrying he’s had to do today.</p><p>He watches through hooded eyelids as Soonyoung takes off the baby sling with a sigh. Then the dancer tucks his blanket around the baby before leaning down to kiss Jihoon on the forehead with a soft whisper of, “Sleep well.”</p><p>Jihoon is almost fully asleep and barely registers the gesture before he drifts off, sound asleep.</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh my god, the fluff (and the slight angst), hehe. </p><p>It’s so hard writing baby Jihoon because I keep making him do cute stuff and acting cute :&lt; I particularly liked writing the scene when they were buying onesies for obvious reasons, lmao. I just feel like all of the phrases on the onesies would annoy Jihoon and make him embarrassed.</p><p>Also, the gesture of Soonyoung squeezing Jihoon’s feet affectionately just makes me so giddy ;-; Personally speaking, I like squeezing babies feet because they’re so soft and squishy :(</p><p>And of course, What Kind of Future has to be added, HAHAHA.</p><p>  <a href="https://twitter.com/mistehri">Twitter</a><br/><a href="https://curiouscat.qa/mistehri">Curious Cat</a></p><p>As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading! ❤</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Cooties Everywhere</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Seungmin has been diagnosed with the case of Cooties.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This was supposed to be split into 2 chapters but I decided against it because then the chapters would be too short, huhu.</p><p>Enjoy reading! ❤</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>While Jihoon is taking a nap, Soonyoung decides to go out into the balcony to work on controlling his powers. </p><p>Usually when Jihoon — adult Jihoon — goes out of the dorm to eat lunch with Jeonghan and Mingyu, Soonyoung likes to take advantage of the opportunity to try and train himself independently. More often than not though, it doesn’t usually end well. Sometimes, icicles hang from the balcony above and the ground beneath him slowly turns into ice. Soonyoung has yet to figure out how to that control that part of him, but that cold feeling in his chest is always searing and burning when he attempts to try.</p><p>Soonyoung has long started to become pessimistic about his powers. Once upon a time he liked to look at the positive side of things, hoping maybe his optimism would rub off on his powers some day, but he was sorely mistaken. With every icicle that shoots out unconsciously from his palms, the more he wants to get his powers stripped completely. </p><p>The process is painful from what he’s heard, getting your powers stripped. He isn’t quite sure what happens but at this point, he’s <em>desperate </em>to get rid of his powers. Powers are supposed to benefit you, help you in times of need, so why does he feel burdened instead?</p><p>With a deep breath, Soonyooung folds his legs underneath him and closes his eyes, trying to focus on that cold feeling slithering between his lungs. Leaning forward, he places his hands on the cold cement and takes another deep breath.</p><p><em>Breathe, </em>he reminds himself. <em>Breathe. Reach in inside you, tug, and pull.</em></p><p>Mentally, Soonyoung tries to follow those steps, eyes squeezing tighter and eyebrows furrowing in concentration. The coolness in his chest begins to travel down his abdomen, spreading throughout his body until he feels the cold searing down inside his arms, downwards to his palm and through the tips of his fingers. For a moment, everything seems to be going as planned.</p><p>And then it doesn’t.</p><p>More rapidly than he intended, the ground beneath Soonyoung begins to ice over faster than he thought was possible. Eyes shooting open, he lets out a gasp as the tinges of white and blue begin to get more visible, little crackling sounds emitting from the ground as he pulls his hands away like lightning.</p><p><em>Shit, </em>he curses inwardly, head whipping towards the walls that are beginning to get covered. <em>Shit, what the hell do I do?!</em></p><p>In his panic, he attempts to stand up, wobbling a little from the slippery feeling. Falling forward, he’s quick to brace himself on the railing only to feel horror creep up in his chest when the rail begins to freeze over from his touch alone.</p><p>“Jihoon!” he calls, his panic making him momentarily forget the current circumstances. “Jihoon — I — there’s ice! Jihoon!"</p><p>The realization that Jihoon had been turned into a baby hits him hard, and he nearly slips as the ice beneath him begins to get wet. Water pools around his feet as the panic inside him begins swelling even more. He holds onto the railing for dear life, and he probably looks like an absolute lunatic to anyone watching him struggle from the ground below, but he couldn’t care any less about that.</p><p>One by one, icicles begin protruding from the ground and the balcony above. Soonyoung feels like he’s suffocating, breaths getting heavier and heavier as his eyes swivel back and forth, as though he would get help from anyone. </p><p>“Shit, okay,” he whispers underneath his breath, spreading his legs a little wider to keep his steady posture amidst the slippery floor. “Shit. What did Seungkwan say about pulling back? What the hell do I do?” </p><p><em>Grab it, </em>echoes Seungkwan’s voice in his mind. <em>Grab it. Yank it. Dissolve.</em></p><p><em>Grab it, yank it, dissolve? </em>Soonyoung thinks bitterly. <em>What the hell does that even mean?</em></p><p>In an attempt to try out the grabbing and yanking part, he reaches out for an icicle that’s steadily protruding beside him and wraps his hand around it. He hisses at the searing cold feeling in his palms, squeezing his eyes shut as he pulls the icicle from the ground. He nearly falls backward from the force at which the icicle breaks, but now he’s got a huge cone shaped icicle in his hands.</p><p><em>Okay, dissolve, </em>he thinks confusedly. <em>How...How do I dissolve? Do I just...?</em></p><p>Frantically, he throws the icicle on the ground, shielding himself as shards of ice shatter everywhere. He winces at the loud sound it makes, hoping it won’t wake Jihoon from his nap, but that’s the least of his worries now. His heart still pounds rapidly against his chest, the blood pounding against his ears sounding even louder.</p><p>Everything is too much.</p><p>Then, like nothing happened, the ice begins to retract, dissolving into water. The icicles from the balcony above quiver and fall, and Soonyoung is quick to duck down low and use his arms to shield his head, wincing when he feels an icicle scratch his arm.</p><p>Everything seems alright now, but Soonyoung has never wanted to cry more.</p><p><em>25 years of trying, </em>he thinks bitterly, hesitantly peeking out to check if the coast is clear. <em>25 years of trying and still no improvement.</em></p><p>Slowly, gripping onto the railing hesitantly, he pulls himself up on trembling legs and wipes at his face, feeling the cold searing his skin from his own touch. The frustration inside him grows more than it ever has before. </p><p>His phone suddenly rings in his pocket, but Soonyoung is in absolutely no mood to answer it.</p><p><em>The cure, </em>his mind whispers stubbornly. <em>Maybe they found a cure already.</em></p><p>Defeatedly, Soonyoung sinks back down onto the ground and lets out another quivering sigh. He reaches into his pocket and pulls his phone out, checking the caller ID before pressing accept.</p><p>“Hello?” His voice is low, quiet, but Seungkwan doesn’t seem to catch onto his downhearted mood.</p><p><em>“I think we found the cure!”</em> says Seungkwan excitedly. </p><p>“Oh, yeah?” Soonyoung tries to sound enthusiastic but he really doesn’t have the energy to be faking his emotions. “What is it?"</p><p>
  <em>“True love’s kiss!"</em>
</p><p>Silence.</p><p>Soonyoung blinks once, twice, then shakes his head to clear his ears out. “I’m sorry, what did you say? True love’s kiss?"</p><p><em>“Yup!”</em> Seungkwan pops the ‘p’. <em>“Think about it, hyung! It works in fairytales! Why won’t it work in real life? Besides, you’ll be able to finally kiss your Jihoonie! It’s a win-win situation!"</em></p><p>Raising his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose, Soonyoung closes his eyes and heaves a sigh. “Seungkwan, they’re called fairytales for a reason,” he says exasperatedly, knocking his head back against the wall. “They don’t exist. I doubt a true love’s kiss exists either."</p><p>
  <em>“It doesn’t hurt to try though, does it?"</em>
</p><p>“Seungkwan, that’s <em>weird. </em>Jihoonie — he’s a baby. I’m a grown adult. It would be weird of me to kiss him."</p><p>He can almost imagine Seungkwan rolling his eyes. <em>“Oh, please. Mothers kiss their babies on the lips when they’re younger all the time. My mom used to do it. Besides, technically Jihoon-hyung is a grown adult. He’s just trapped in a baby’s body."</em></p><p>“I’m still gonna pass."</p><p>Seungkwan sighs. <em>“There goes that idea,”</em> he grumbles. There’s a slight pause, then his voice softens, <em>“How are you holding up, hyung?"</em></p><p>Soonyoung tries not to think about the incident that happened not too long ago. “Okay,” he says, more or less true. “Same old.” </p><p>
  <em>“Any progress?"</em>
</p><p>Soonyoung feels like crying all over again. “You know the answer to that."</p><p><em>“You can do it, hyung.”</em> Seungkwan’s voice is all rainbows and sunshine, but all Soonyoung can feel is stormy days. <em>“I believe in you!"</em></p><p><em>How long are you gonna believe in me? </em>Soonyoung thinks bitterly, curling his legs up to his chest. <em>How long are you gonna keep saying that? How long are you gonna keep lying to me?</em></p><p>”Thanks, Kwan,” is what comes out of his mouth instead. “Good luck on finding a <em>real </em>cure."</p><p>
  <em>“Like I said, it never hurts to try, hyung. I gotta go. We gotta keep searching for the cure."</em>
</p><p>“Good luck. See you."</p><p>Soonyoung hangs up the call and sets his phone down, lifting both his palms up to his face and examine them. Every line, every indent, every print — he doesn’t understand what’s wrong. What exactly is he doing wrong? He’s been trying to follow through with the instructions given to him, so why isn’t anything working?</p><p>With another sigh, Soonyoung stands up and steps inside the dorm again. </p><p>“Maybe this life wasn’t meant for me,” he mumbles under his breath as he closes the balcony door behind him.</p><p>He decides to take his mind off the events that had just happened, not wanting to make himself feel worse than he already feels. He busies himself with some laundry and cleans the dirty dishes in the sink while he’s at it. He stores the items in the plastic bags away and tucks them away in the fridge for later. </p><p>By the time he’s just finishing and about to relax on the couch, there’s a whimper from the bedroom, followed by a loud whine. Sighing, feeling all the resentment in his heart ease a little, Soonyoung hurries over into the bedroom to make sure Jihoon doesn’t somehow roll off the bed before he manages to get to him.</p><p>He twists open the handle and pushes the door open quietly, peering inside slowly. He feels his heartstrings tug when he sees Jihoon rolling over on his stomach, rubbing clumsily at his face and blinking blearily up at who knows where.</p><p>“Hello, you,” Soonyoung coos, feeling all his pessimistic emotions fade away at the sight of the baby. Even in this state, Jihoon always somehow manages to make him feel better. He walks over and bends down to scoop Jihoon into his arms. “How was your nap?"</p><p>Jihoon lets out a resounding coo, giving him a gummy smile, and the cuteness of it all just tugs at Soonyoung’s heartstrings. He just wants to pepper kisses all over Jihoon’s chubby face and smother him with love and affection he’s been holding in all these years, but he’ll have to hold off. Some day, but not today.</p><p>Sighing, Soonyoung sits down at the edge of the bed and lays back, setting Jihoon down on his abdomen and holding his torso so he doesn’t fall back. </p><p>“Maybe it would be nice to see you growing up,” he mutters, watching as Jihoon sticks his thumb into his mouth as he stares at him with those big doe eyes. “Maybe then...maybe then I’d be able to see how you did it. Controlling your powers, I mean."</p><p>Jihoon tilts his head at him cutely, as if saying <em>what do you mean?</em></p><p>Even if Jihoon can’t quite understand him, Soonyoung goes on to explain anyway. “I tried working on my powers earlier,” he sighs heavily, training his gaze on the ceiling. “It got out of hand really quick. There were icicles hanging off the ceiling and water everywhere, and then it just...disappeared.” He keeps one hand on Jihoon to show him the scratch he’d gotten from that icicle that feel on him. “Look, I even got scratched."</p><p>Jihoon’s eyes flicker to the white line on his arm, then he takes his thumb out of his mouth with a wet pop and babbles loudly at Soonyoung, leaning forward to <em>smack smack smack </em>at Soonyoung’s arm. The expression on his face looks stern, and Soonyoung can’t help but feel amused at the sight.</p><p>“I’m clumsy, aren’t I?” he asks rhetorically. “This sucks so much. What do you think about me stripping my powers? That would be a good idea, right?"</p><p>He’s startled when Jihoon suddenly pounds his fists against his chest insistently, babbling fiercely and head bobbling. Had it not been for the dull pain on his skin, Soonyoung would’ve found it adorable.</p><p>“Whoa, hey, stop it,” he chides, grabbing onto Jihoon’s tiny fists and holding them in one hand. “What’s wrong?"</p><p>Jihoon keeps babbling, spit dribbling down his chin as he does so. Chuckling a little, Soonyoung sits up and scoops Jihoon up into his arms, exiting the bedroom to walk into the kitchen.</p><p>“I guess you’re hungry, huh?” he muses, fastening Jihoon’s bib around his neck and wiping the saliva off his chin.</p><p>Jihoon grunts a little and waves his head around, as though that’s not what he wants. Then his stomach grumbles and he stops moving, a little cute hue of pink dusting his cheeks.</p><p>Soonyoung chuckles and grabs a container of puff cereal snacks and pours some pieces out onto the lid before going into the lounge area to sit them both on the couch. He watches, endeared, as Jihoon takes one between his fingers and sniffs it suspiciously, tongue poking out to lick tentatively at it. Seeming to like it, Jihoon lets out a coo and begins gumming on it, swaying where he’s sitting.</p><p>
  <em> Cute. </em>
</p><p>“Don’t spill, okay?” Soonyoung warns, placing the container on the coffee table and setting Jihoon down to sit beside him. “Here, let me entertain you.”</p><p>He leaves the baby for a moment to walk across the room and pulls out the Wii from beneath the table of the TV. He sets it up with much difficulty, then manages to plug in the cords and turn on the machine. Then, reaching for a CD, he pulls out Just Dance and loads it in the tray. He grins victoriously and turns to Jihoon, who’s watching him with amusement twinkling in his eyes.</p><p>“What song should I pick, Jihoonie?” he muses, flicking the remote in his hand as he scans through the selection.</p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>"Risin' up, back on the street</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Did my time, took my chances</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Just a man and his will to survive."</em>
  </p>
  <p> </p>
</blockquote><p>Soonyoung grins and selects the song. “Eye of the tiger,” he sings, dramatically getting into position. “Get ready to see some awesome dance moves, Jihoonie!"</p><p>Behind him, Jihoon lets out a coo of amusement, even clapping his hands with a giggle. Soonyoung chuckles a little as he begins to punch the air with the beat, and Jihoon practically squeals with laughter upon the sight of him.</p><p>“Why are you laughing?” Soonyoung questions, turning to look back at the eye smiling baby. “Do you think this is funny to you, Lee Jihoon-ssi?” He hears a buzz in front of him and he turns around quickly, getting back on track. “Oh, <em>shit. </em>I mean — <em>shit </em>— I mean oops. Swearing is bad, Jihoonie!"</p><p>Jihoon lets out another giggle, cooing and clapping his hands clumsily, smearing puff cereal against his skin as he does so. Soonyoung chuckles and goes back to punching the air.</p><p>When the song comes to an end, Soonyoung flops back on the couch and turns his head to Jihoon. “Did I do good?"</p><p>Jihoon reaches over and pats — more like lightly slaps — Soonyoung’s cheek, as though to assure him that he did, indeed, do well. Soonyoung laughs a little, especially when he feels the wet mush of Jihoon’s puff cereals much against his cheek.</p><p>“Jihoonie, you’re so messy,” he says fondly, using Jihoon’s bib to wipe his face and hands. “You’re so neat as an adult, it’s kind of funny."</p><p>Jihoon babbles again and pats Soonyoung’s cheek once more, his other hand shoving another puff cereal into his mouth. Soonyoung shakes his head fondly and chuckles.</p><p>“There was a time where I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to dance with me, just for entertainment, but...that was right after the time I accidentally froze the entire water system after panicking about setting the stove on fire.” He laughs weakly at the memory, feeling a pang in his heart when he thinks of how <em> angry </em>Jihoon had been. “You were so pissed at me and had to melt the ice away and collect the fire from the stove.”</p><p>Jihoon tilts his head up at him, his eyes sparkling with something Soonyoung can’t quite make out. He feels another pang in his heart as he trains his gaze at the characters dancing on the screen.</p><p>“Sometimes I think about moving out and leaving you alone so you wouldn’t be so burdened all the time,” Soonyoung says with a sad sigh. “Sometimes I wished we swapped bodies, but...I don’t want you to feel the way I do.” His voice turns softer, fragile. “I’m so useless. There are times where I wonder why you guys even bother to keep me around when I can’t do anything right. Maybe you pity me.” </p><p>Jihoon lets out a grunt as Soonyoung flicks through the selection of songs, the mood suddenly bought down by his negativity. He smacks the lid full of cereal puffs in front of him, and before Soonyoung can scold him about the mess, he plants his chubby hands on Soonyoung’s thigh and heaves himself forward, grunting a little. </p><p>Soonyoung automatically helps Jihoon into his lap, hands supporting his hips and an endeared smile on his face. Once Jihoon seems to be in the position he wants to be in, he reaches out and pats at Soonyoung’s cheeks, cooing wetly. </p><p>While Soonyoung isn’t quite sure what the baby is trying to do, Jihoon’s clumsy gesture cheers him up immediately and he chuckles a little, leaning in to rub their noses together. Jihoon rears back and gives him an annoyed look, babbling fiercely and looking determined to make him understand. </p><p>Soonyoung wishes he could understand. </p><p>They sit there on the couch for a bit, with Soonyoung affectionately listening to Jihoon’s mighty babbles and venting. He nods along to whatever he says just to indulge him but he knows Jihoon knows he doesn’t quite understand what he’s talking about. When Jihoon seems satisfied with what he’s said, Soonyoung only laughs and heaves the baby into his arms.</p><p>“Why don’t you try and place Just Dance, huh?” he croons, and Jihoon lets out another babble. Soonyoung rearranges his limbs and helps Jihoon stand, sliding the strap over his little wrist and holding both his arms in his hands. “Ready? What song do you want?"</p><p>He flicks through the selection of songs until Jihoon lets out a little “aaaaa."</p><p> </p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p>
    <em>"Oh, I wanna dance with somebody</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>I wanna feel the heat with somebody</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>Yeah, I wanna dance with somebody</em>
  </p>
  <p>
    <em>With somebody who loves me."</em>
  </p>
</blockquote><p> </p><p>“Mariah Carey, huh?” Soonyoung chuckles, pressing the button to start. “Okay, let’s do this, Jihoonie!"</p><p>An hour later finds Soonyoung and Jihoon both giggling as they attack the dance positions together. Jihoon keeps letting out little cute noises every time he passes a move, and grunts whenever the remote doesn’t process his movement. Soonyoung supports him, sitting behind him and shouting out little encouragements here and there as he tries controlling Jihoon’s limbs the best he can.</p><p>Jihoon only gets 3 stars in the end but Soonyoung lifts him up in the air and smothers his face in kisses again, the both of them falling to the floor in a heap of giggles and love.</p><p>Later that night after they’ve eaten dinner, Soonyoung puts them both to bed and tucks a blanket around Jihoon’s tiny body. He lays down next to the baby with a sigh and closes his eyes, but Jihoon is fussing beside him and finding it hard to get comfortably, little whines and displeased grunts leaving his puckered lips. Soonyoung braces himself on his elbow again and reaches out to stroke through Jihoon’s hair, mouth opening and quietly singing Jihoon’s song again.</p><p>Almost instantaneously, Jihoon falls quiet and stops fussing about, staring up at Soonyoung with his wide, dark eyes. Soonyoung is only halfway through the song when Jihoon’s eyes are beginning to droop, his breathing evening out until eventually, he falls asleep.</p><p>Soonyoung stares at him until he feels his own eyes beginning to get heavy, and he leans down to press a kiss against Jihoon’s forehead. Then he settles himself back next to Jihoon’s side and closes his eyes, drifting off to sleep.</p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p>It’s the next morning, and Soonyoung decides to let Jihoon have a couple of Cheerios as a reward after his breakfast of yucky pea flavored baby food. Jihoon sits on the couch, upset as he gums angrily at the little cereal donuts. The reason he’s annoyed is because he doesn’t have any teeth to eat them as quickly as he wants to, instead having to wait until he turns it into mush. </p><p>It doesn’t exactly help that Soonyoung is making brownie batter in the kitchen, and the smell is so good that it makes Jihoon even more hungrier. The smell is wafting all over their dorm, and it sucks even more when Jihoon realizes Soonyoung won’t let him have any once they’re baked, and he pouts at the thought of it, peeved. He lets out a loud grunt to let Soonyoung know his displeasure, even babbling angrily as he does so.</p><p>Soonyoung looks up from mixing the batter and frowns at the commotion Jihoon is making, noting the baby’s sour expression. “Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, huh?”</p><p>“Fuck off,” Jihoon grumbles, watching as Soonyoung walks over and reaches out to cup his cheeks.</p><p>“Oh, come on,” Soonyoung coos, dipping in to place his plush lips upon Jihoon’s nose. “Don’t be such a debbie downer.”</p><p>Jihoon grunts and attempts to shake him off, but Soonyoung does it over and over again, even making little growling sounds as he does so. He keeps doing it, not stopping, until Jihoon’s stomach is swirling with warmth and he finds himself giggling despite his original anger for the brownies, face turning hot.</p><p>“Look at you!” Soonyoung croons, eyes hiding behind his fluffy cheeks, and Jihoon’s chest feels warmer at the sight. “I could just eat your cheeks up, Jihoonie! You’re so adorable!”</p><p>Jihoon flushes at that, not even having the courage to push Soonyoung away when the dancer smacks another kiss on his cheek before heading back to attend to the brownie batter. Jihoon watches as Soonyoung scoops the brownie batter into a pan. It’s not long before the smell of the brownies begins to fill up the dorm, and Jiihoon is <em> salivating. </em>Quite literally. He suddenly finds himself slobbering at the mouth and chin, even his fingers where he’d been sticking Cheerios into his mouth. He grunts in disgust and tries to wipe it away, but unsuccessfully manages to smear his saliva over his face ever more.</p><p>Whining in frustration, he sees Soonyoung coming over to him with a chuckle. “Well, someone’s made a mess,” he coos, grabbing the corner of Jihoon’s bib and wiping the wetness away.</p><p>Once his face is clean, Jihoon begins babbling again and holds his arms out, making grabby hands so Soonyoung will pick him up. Soonyoung obeys with an amused smile, picking Jihoon up into his arms and sitting down with him planted in his lap. </p><p>“Hey, Soons...about getting your powers stripped, I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Jihoon says, but Soonyoung doesn't understand what he’s trying to say. “I had a friend get his power stripped and he regretted it the moment he completed the process, so please — "</p><p>Soonyoung grabs a pacifier from the side table and shows it to Jihoon, who stares at it in disbelief. “Whoa, hey. What the fuck do you think you’re doing — ”</p><p>Soonyoung pushes the pacifier in his mouth while he’s talking. Grunting, Jihoon attempts to spit it out but his mouth starts sucking on it instead. </p><p>“There you go,” Soonyoung says with a smile of satisfaction, turning on the TV before he leaves Jihoon to return to the brownies. </p><p>Jihoon continues to suck on the pacifier, a little bitter as he sucks on the plastic knob. He can hear Soonyoung opening and closing drawers and cupboards, quietly singing to himself as the smell of brownies begins to get stronger, and Jihoon finds himself wishing he clung onto Soonyoung just so he could listen to his voice. While Soonyoung isn’t a singer of any sort, Jihoon finds himself imagining how it would sound like if they sing together.</p><p>Once Soonyoung takes the tray of brownies out, he sets them on the kitchen counter to cool and comes back over to sit on the couch, settling Jihoon into his lap and gently taking his hands, giving him room to snatch them away if he so chooses. Instead, much to his surprise, Jihoon wraps his fingers around Soonyoung’s thumbs and squeezes, his chest going all tingly when Soonyoung gives him an affectionate smile.</p><p>Soonyoung scoops Jihoon up closer to his chest and nuzzles his nose against his chubby cheek, making soft cooing sounds as he digs his nose into the fat rolls of Jihoon’s neck. It tickles and makes Jihoon giggle around his pacifier, which causes it to fall out of his mouth and onto Soonyoung’s sweater, accidentally marking a wet spot on the fabric though Soonyoung doesn’t seem to care.</p><p>Soonyoung’s lips are plump and soft and pleasant against his face, and no matter how much Jihoon tries to convince himself he doesn’t like it, he can’t. Soonyoung smells wonderful, warm and gentle and pleasing to Jihoon’s sensitive baby senses, and perhaps this is the safest Jihoon has ever felt in his entire life. He nuzzles his face into Soonyoung’s neck with a soft sigh, making pleased cooing noises against the dancer’s skin.</p><p>Soonyoung lets him be for a while until Jihoon feels him standing, hiking him against his hip and heading towards the kitchen where the smell of brownies is most prominent. Soonyoung bends down and retrieves a plastic container that’s stored in one of the cabinets, then stands back up again and places it in the sink. It has a perfect baby-shaped indent sloped down at an angle like a recliner, and Jihoon suddenly has a terrible feeling.</p><p>“How about a bath?” Soonyoung asks, grabbing the baby shampoo on the counter.</p><p>“Wait the fuck up,” Jihoon says, suddenly not wanting to be in Soonyoung’s arms anymore. “I don’t think so! Let me down this instant!”</p><p>Soonyoung simply kisses the top of his head and turns on the faucet, adjusting the water temperature accordingly. “Don’t be fussy,” Soonyoung coaxes, bouncing Jihoon a little. “It’ll feel so nice and warm, and you’ll get to be all clean afterwards. You haven’t taken a bath in a while.”</p><p>Jihoon has to admit that the words “nice” and “warm” and “clean” do intrigue him. He’s never minded the water, and it’s true that it feels like he hasn’t taken a bath in ages. It would feel really nice to feel clean again. Soonyoung seems to sense his hesitance and smiles sweetly at him, taking him to their bedroom to undress him.</p><p>At this point, it’s a normal thing now, for Soonyoung to be undressing him, but Jihoon still feels embarrassed despite how regular it feels now. He blushes furiously but doesn’t make any move to refuse, instead avoiding any eye contact with Soonyoung and trying to remind himself that it’s not actually him that Soonyoung is undressing, just a baby.</p><p>After he’s butt naked, Soonyoung wraps a towel around him and carries him back to the kitchen. He lifts Jihoon out of the towel and places him gently into the makeshift plastic bathtub, running the warm water over him. When the water reaches Jihoon’s hips, Soonyoung adds soap and mixes it with the water, making it bubble and foam. </p><p>The water feels so relaxing after having not felt it for what seems like forever, and Jihoon sighs pleasantly when Soonyoung gently pours water over his head with a small container, being careful not to get it in Jihoon’s eyes. </p><p>Jihoon’s eyes flutter shut, not quite realizing he’s already putting his trust in Soonyoung by doing such a thing, but he couldn’t care any less at the moment. Soonyoung’s fingers are rubbing into his scalp to shampoo his hair and it feels like heaven, and Jihoon lets his body go lax completely.</p><p>Soonyoung takes his time shampooing Jihoon’s hair, working the soft strands gently with his fingertips. When Soonyoung starts unconsciously singing his song under his breath, that’s when Jihoon’s eyes blink open to stare up at him.</p><p>Soonyoung’s dark hair is a little curly and messy from when he woke up just a few hours ago. He’s got a light sheen of sweat over him from the heat of the oven, cheeks flushed a light pink. The color brings out the vibrant hue of his plush lips, naturally pouty and puckered. His tan skin is accentuated by the light coming through the window, and his oversized cream colored sweater is rolled up to his elbows, exposing well-toned yet gentle arms. There’s something about him that’s just so <em> bright</em>, and Jihoon’s chest blossoms warmly as he gazes up at him.</p><p>He doesn’t know how he’s never noticed it before, but Soonyoung is absolutely <em> breathtaking. </em>What Jihoon has noticed is Soonyoung takes such good care of him without selfishly asking him anything in return.</p><p>Perhaps Soonyoung isn’t as annoying as Jihoon first made himself believe.</p><p>“You’re so pretty,” Jihoon breathes, feeling soft and mushy inside. “The prettiest person I’ve ever seen."</p><p>Soonyoung glances at him upon hearing his soft coo and smiles sweetly at him. “The bath is nice, right?” </p><p>Jihoon suddenly feels his heart skip a beat and he finds himself smiling back a gummy smile. Soonyoung’s smile turns wider and he bends down to press a gentle kiss on Jihoon’s wet cheek, and the baby finds himself trying to follow after Soonyoung’s lips when the dancer pulls away.</p><p>Soonyoung runs the faucet again once Jihoon is sufficiently soaped up, rinsing Jihoon with his hand until all the traces of soap and suds have gone down the drain. He turns off the sink after a moment and scoops Jihoon from the tub, wrapping him up in a warm, fluffy towel. Completely burritoed, Soonyoung carries Jihoon back into the bedroom and dries his hair with the towel until it’s a cute, fluffy poof. </p><p>Soonyoung holds up the koala onesie they’d seen in the store earlier and shows it to Jihoon, who glares at it in distaste.</p><p>“You’re not putting that on me,” he spits, but Soonyoung doesn’t mind him. </p><p>The dancer whips the towel off completely, making Jihoon shriek as he tries to shield what’s left of his dignity — not that he already lost it while Soonyoung bathed him — but his desperation allows Soonyoung to put a diaper on him. The dancer maneuvers his limbs into all the right sleeves and zips it up, pulling the hood up before Jihoon even has time to blink.</p><p>Soonyoung laughs in delight and bends down to smother Jihoon’s face in kisses. “You’re the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, oh my god. Wait, let me get my phone!”</p><p>Jihoon feels like he’s been stuffed inside a clown suit, but the inside of the outfit is surprisingly soft and warm and if he imagines hard enough, maybe he can be cocooned in a cloud. </p><p>With the way Soonyoung is grinning and telling him to pose for the camera, maybe he doesn’t mind it so much.</p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p>Jihoon and Soonyoung are dancing about in the living room again when there’s a knock on the door. Soonyoung pauses the game and looks towards the door. </p><p>“I wonder who that is,” he muses, then scoops Jihoon in his arms, pressing a kiss on his cheek. “Let’s find out, hmm?"</p><p>He hikes Jihoon against his hip and makes his way towards the door. He swings the door open. “Hello — "</p><p>“Hello, darling,” an unfamiliar voice drawls. </p><p>Jihoon feels Soonyoung tense up and he turns his head to look at the man. Jihoon’s never seen him around before but that doesn’t mean he can’t sense the wrong vibe he gives off. He automatically doesn’t like him. Why does the atmosphere feel weirdly uneasy?</p><p>“Seungmin,” Soonyoung breathes, and Jihoon tries racking his memory for the name. “What...What are you doing here? How the hell do you know my room?” </p><p>Jihoon eyes Seungmin darkly, feeling a familiar ball of heat swell inside him. There’s that familiar sensation of <em> something </em>burning inside him and it doesn’t take him a second to realize what it is.</p><p>“I just had to go to the office and tell them I needed your room code,” Seungmin says, grinning. His gaze falls on Jihoon, the smile falling right off his face upon the sight of him. Jihoon gives the ugliest look he can muster. “Who’s this? You have a kid?”</p><p>Soonyoung shields Jihoon from Seungmin’s sight. “Leave him out of this,” he hisses, stepping back to close the door, but Seungmin uses his foot to prevent it from closing at the last second.</p><p>Seungmin’s eyes flash. “All this time I thought you didn’t get any but it turns out, you’re sleeping with other people?” He clicks his tongue, holding the sides of the cart with a vice grip. “Tell me who you slept with. Was it your roommate of yours? Lee Jihoom?”</p><p><em> What the fuck is wrong with this dried prune? </em>Jihoon thinks, trying to turn his head to give the nastiest glare he can muster to the man. <em>It’s Lee fucking Jihoon, you fucking potato head.</em></p><p>“I didn’t sleep with anyone,” Soonyoung bites back, tugging at the cart. “This is my nephew. I’m babysitting him. Now leave us alone.”</p><p>The space between them suddenly falls quiet, and when Jihoon manages to successfully turn his head to glare at the prune, Seungmin is already leaning forward, his eyes glowing purple. Jihoon whips his head back and stares up at Soonyoung, whose eyes are also glowing a faint purple, vacant of any emotion.</p><p>
  <em> What the fuck.</em>
</p><p>Jihoon absolutely <em> loses </em>it. He sucks in a deep, mighty breath and lets out a scream at the top of his lungs, even deafening himself. He doesn’t stop, even when his throat begins straining, not until Seungmin rears back in shock and Soonyoung blinks rapidly with a wince. </p><p>“Stop trying to hypnotize my Soonyoung, you fucking dried prune ass!” Jihoon screams, leaning forward in Soonyoung’s arms in an attempt to smack at Seungmin. “I’ll fucking beat your ugly ass when I’m an adult again, just you fucking wait and see! Don’t even fucking try me, you piece of shit! I’ll burn you to the depths of hell!”</p><p>He can feel heat on his head, sparks and electricity sparking out from his hands as he kicks and twists wildly in the sling. God, he’s so <em> angry </em> he can feel his hair beginning to flame up, fists turning bright red with heat. Oh, he can feel his powers spiraling.</p><p>Without wasting any more time, Soonyoung kicks Seungmin in the abdomen and slams the door closed without waiting to see if he’s done any damage. Then he spins on his heel and snatches his phone from the table, running into their bedroom and locking the door closed behind him.</p><p>“Soonyoung, what the hell is going on? Who is that guy?” Jihoon questions fiercely, but Soonyoung pushes his finger against his lips and shakes his head.</p><p>“Shhh,” he shushes, his eyes wavering as he glances at the door. He sets Jihoon on his bed and tucks some pillows around him, head swiveling towards the door every so often.</p><p>Jihoon is about to keep talking when he hears footsteps coming up to the door, and he falls quiet instantly, hands balling into fists when he recalls what Seungmin had said. Does Soonyoung have a stalker or something? What the hell is going on?</p><p>He watches worriedly as Soonyoung crouches down and retrieves something from underneath the bed — a bat. He watches as Soonyoung heaves it up against his shoulder, his feet softly padding across the room and hands gripping at the base of the bat tightly. </p><p>There’s a sigh from the other side of the door. “Looks like I’ll have to come back tomorrow, darling. Maybe you’ll change your mind.” The footsteps pad away, and Jihoon faintly hears the front door opening and closing.</p><p>Soonyoung stays readily in his stance for a moment, then two. Then he takes a step back and slowly lowers the bat, exhaling a breath as a tear slides down his face. Jihoon’s heart breaks at the sight and he lets out a whine to catch his attention.</p><p>Soonyoung immediately drops the bat and kneels down by the edge of the bed. He leans forward to wrap his arms around JIhoon and releases a shaky sigh, fingers trembling where they caress the back of his head. Had he not been born with fire powers, perhaps Jihoon would be able to sense how nervous Soonyoung is.</p><p>Face still red and wet with tears from all his screaming earlier, Jihoon places his chubby arms around Soonyoung’s shoulders and coos at him comfortingly. Soonyoung simply pats his back, eyes glassy and mouth quivering. Jihoon feels his heart break at the sight and he coos again, pressing his puckered lips against Soonyoung’s chin, the only part he can reach.</p><p>Soonyoung gives him a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes before he grabs his phone and dials someone.</p><p><em>“Hello?”</em> It’s Seungkwan.</p><p>“Seungkwan.” Soonyoung’s voice is trembling when he speaks. “Seungkwan, he’s here. Seungmin — ”</p><p>
  <em>“What?! Hyung, where are you?”</em>
</p><p>“No, no. Just — Can you meet me back at my dorm?” Soonyoung’s breathing is turning shallow. “I — We — Seungmin — He found our dorm. Seungkwan, I don’t — I don’t feel safe.”</p><p>
  <em>“I’ll fucking beat his ass — ”</em>
</p><p>“No, just meet me at my dorm,” Soonyoung says, eyes squeezing shut as he absentmindedly begins squeezing Jihoon’s foot in his other hand. “We’re in the room. I don’t know if he really left or he’s just pretending. You have the spare card, right?”</p><p>Seungkwan sighs. <em>“Yeah, okay. I’ll meet you there. If Seungmin lays another finger on you, I swear on all things holy that I’ll feed him to the wild.”</em></p><p>“Thanks, Seungkwan.”</p><p>He hangs up the call, and Jihoon can’t help but wonder how Seungkwan knows who Seungmin is. He feels like he’s missing something and he babbles loudly to catch Soonyoung’s attention.</p><p>Soonyoung pockets his phone and gives Jihoon another smile, this time a little brighter. He squeezes Jihoon’s feet affectionately. “I’m okay,” he whispers, reaching up to wipe his tears. “Let’s stay here for a moment. I feel like I’m gonna throw up or something.”</p><p><em>Why didn’t you tell me about this in the first place? </em>Jihoon thinks sadly, suddenly feeling heavy. </p><p>The rest of their time in the bedroom consists of a very uneasy Soonyoung and a very aware Jihoon. At one point they hear a creak of the floorboards and go very still, breaths stilted. Jihoon feels Soonyoung’s hands tighten around him with fear and he tries his best to comfort the dancer in any way he can, though he can only do so much.</p><p>When a knock on the door comes, it’s Seungkwan’s voice that greets them this time, providing the clear. Soonyoung immediately pulls him into a hug the moment he sees him and Seungkwan’s arms wrap around him comfortingly, looking like he’s used to this. It makes Jihoon wonder if Soonyoung’s been through incidents like these already, and the thought makes him angry all over again.</p><p>“What happened?” Seungkwan sighs. </p><p>“Seungmin came,” Soonyoung sighs as he pulls Seungkwan through the door and closes it behind him. “He just...came out of nowhere. He said the office provided him my dorm room.”</p><p>“Did he do anything to you?” Seungkwan asks, taking a seat on the bed next to Jihoon. “I swear, if he harassed you like last time — ”</p><p>
  <em> What the fuck.  </em>
</p><p>Jihoon can hardly believe what he’s hearing. Soonyoung got harassed by that fucker? Oh, there’s that familiar heat brewing inside his stomach. </p><p>“He hypnotized me,” Soonyoung says, covering his face. “I couldn’t even fight it. There were — there were voices in my head, Kwan. I can still hear them, telling me...telling me I’m too weak to do anything. I’m useless. I’m so tired, Seungkwan. It’s so draining. My powers are more burdening than they are helpful. I want to get them stripped.”</p><p>Jihoon’s heart shatters, and it takes him a second to realize Soonyoung is crying again. </p><p><em>How heavy has this been weighing on Soonyoung’s shoulders for him to want his powers to be stripped? </em>he thinks sadly, suddenly feeling his anger melting away.</p><p>Seungkwan pulls Soonyoung down with him and tucks his head into his neck, looking somber.</p><p>“You’re not weak, hyung,” he tells him, and Jihoon agrees inwardly. “You’re not useless either. We all have different paths to success, and maybe yours is a longer one than ours, but that doesn’t mean you’re a failure. Your powers will be useful one day. Maybe it won’t be now. Maybe it won’t be tomorrow, but it’ll be someday.”</p><p>“Someday meaning never, right?” Soonyoung asks bitterly. “That sounds more realistic.”</p><p>“Hyung,” Seungkwan says exasperatedly. “Look, why don’t you practice some now?” He grabs an empty glass from the nightstand and holds it in front of Soonyoung. “Make an ice cube.”</p><p>“Seungkwan — ”</p><p>“Do it.”</p><p>Jihoon watches as Soonyoung hesitantly turns to the glass of water. He reaches out and hovers his palm over the rim. A minute passes, then two, before Soonyoung retracts his hand with a sigh.</p><p>“I can’t — ”</p><p>“You <em> can</em>,” Seungkwan insists. “You just need to be patient, hyung. Try again.”</p><p>Looking peeved, Soonyoung hovers his palm over the rim again and inhales deeply. Jihoon watches him, silently chanting the words <em> you can do it </em> over and over again. He wishes he could at least be converted into a toddler so he can say those words out loud, but a series of babbles leave his lips instead.</p><p>A moment passes and nothing happens. Soonyoung’s eyebrows furrow, eyes distant. He looks to be concentrating so Jihoon opts to quiet down and wait for something to happen.</p><p>Something <em> does </em>happen, but not in the way any of them expects.</p><p>Soonyoung’s body suddenly shivers violently, a gasp escaping past his lips before a large icicle shoots out of his palm, effectively breaking the glass and causing bits and pieces to shatter everywhere. Jihoon flinches, and Seungkwan shields himself with his arms. Soonyoung yelps and flies back against the wall, the icicle retracting itself back into his palm as quickly as it came.</p><p>It’s quiet for a moment and Seungkwan slowly lowers his arms, peeking open at shards of glass everywhere.</p><p>Soonyoung stares at the mess, a disappointed, “I can, huh?” leaving his lips.</p><p>Seungkwan purses his lips. “It takes time,” is what he offers. </p><p>Soonyoung only shakes his head. “I’ve been trying for how many years now, Seungkwan,” he gripes back, standing up to get a broom and dustpan. “Nothing is going to change. It would be better to just strip my powers. I’m done.”</p><p>Seungkwan goes to open his mouth to retaliate when his phone rings. “Hello?” he asks when he picks up while Soonyoung carefully sweeps up the shards of glass. “I’m at Soonyoung-hyung’s dorm...no, something happened...later...oh, yeah, sure. Where are you guys now? Oh, okay, I’ll meet you guys there then...mhm, bye.” He hangs up the call and stands up. “Jeonghannie-hyung says I’m needed.”</p><p>“Yeah, sure,” Soonyoung sighs, standing up once he’s got his mess cleaned up. “I’m sorry for the trouble, Kwan. I’ll see you later.”</p><p>Seungkwan hesitates for a moment, then leaves with a goodbye and some words of encouragement to Soonyoung, to which the dancer nods absentmindedly at that, looking as though he hasn’t taken those encouragements seriously. It makes Jihoon sad seeing the dejected look on his face.</p><p>Later that night, Jihoon listens to Soonyoung venting all his troubles and worries out. He listens intently, fully intending to make sure Soonyoung knows how much he’s loved the moment he turns into an adult again. </p><p>“What am I going to do?” Soonyoung asks miserably, pulling Jihoon to sit in his lap. “I really am useless. What else can’t I do, huh? Protecting myself...using my powers...I hate myself.”</p><p>Jihoon feels that heavy feeling sitting in his chest again. He wants to cry again but he doesn’t want to add even more stress to Soonyoung’s shoulders. Soonyoung, who’s been taking care of him without complaint, always so willing to look out for him.</p><p>“I can’t even confess to you either,” Soonyoung sighs.</p><p>Jihoon stares up at Soonyoung’s face in disbelief. <em>What did he say?</em></p><p>“I’ve liked you for eight years now, I think,” Soonyoung muses, looking wistful. “Even though you haven’t exactly been...fond of me...I always held out in the hopes that maybe you’d have the tiniest crush on me too,” Soonyoung mumbles, looking sadder now. “But of course, I keep messing up and making you hate me even more. At this point, I don’t know why I keep trying. What am I gonna do if you stay stuck as a baby forever?”</p><p>Heart breaking, Jihoon reaches out for Soonyoung’s hands and squeezes as tight as he can.</p><p>“Soonyoung,” he begins sternly.  “Soonie, listen to me. I was an asshole to you, okay? You are none of those things I thought you were before. You’re always so sweet and kind and never afraid to lend a hand to those who need it, and I would apologize to you for the next hundred or so years if that’s what it takes to make you realize that you are worth all these troubles. I love you, okay? I love you so much.”</p><p>Soonyoung listens to Jihoon’s stern babbling with an amused, fond smile and chuckles. “I guess you were very chatty as a baby, huh?"</p><p>Jihoon groans and heaves himself forward to press a sloppy, wet kiss against Soonyoung’s lips. “God damn it, why can’t you understand me? I am professing my love to you but it’s going in one ear and out the other." </p><p>Soonyoung digs his fingers into Jihoon’s sides to make him stop, and Jihoon squeals in surprise and falls back against the bed in a heap of giggles, chest finally feeling full after today’s events.</p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p>Soonyoung’s been watching over Jihoon into the late night, his eyelids drooping and head lolling forward every so often. He’s determined to stay awake though, paranoid now that Seungmin has knowledge of his dorm room.</p><p>His ringing phone startles him so much, he almost falls off the bed, but Jihoon’s hand wrapped around his pinky is surprisingly strong enough to keep him in place.</p><p>Reaching for his phone on the nightstand rather awkwardly, Soonyoung glances at the caller ID, wincing at the sudden brightness. He answers it before Jihoon can make a fuss.</p><p>“Hello?” he whispers, slowly trying to release himself from Jihoon’s hold.</p><p><em>“Soonyoung!”</em> Jeonghan apparently doesn’t understand that people are still sleeping. <em>“We found her! We found the woman!"</em></p><p>“You did?” Soonyoung questions, suddenly sitting up. “Where is she?”</p><p>
  <em>“She’s at the park near the forest where we first found her in. We’re talking to her right now.” </em>
</p><p>“That’s great and all...” Soonyoung trails off, glancing at Jihoon to make sure he’s still asleep, “...how are you going to get her to break the curse? She’s probably still holding a grudge against Jihoonie.”</p><p><em>“Hold on,”</em> comes Jeonghan’s reply, then some muffled talking in the background. <em>“Uh...she...she says she wants to go on a date with...Channie."</em></p><p>Soonyoung snorts at that, covering his mouth to prevent any more noise from slipping out that could wake Jihoon. “A date with Channie? Is it because of her failed dates with all those other men?"</p><p>
  <em>”Probably. I have to go now. Update us tomorrow if Jihoonie’s back to normal!"</em>
</p><p>The call hangs up before Soonyoung can say anything, and he sighs out hopefully, laying back down beside Jihoon and resting his hand on his stomach. “They found the woman, Jihoonie,” he whispers, more so to himself. “Lord, please turn back into an adult. As much as I’ll miss baby Jihoonie, I miss adult Jihoon just as much."</p><p>He watches Jihoon sleep for a few more moments, the way his chest rises and falls peacefully. He can feel his eyelids getting heavier, a newfound comfort heating his chest now that he’s been rest assured Jihoon <em>might </em>turn back into an adult again.</p><p>He goes to sleep with hope in his chest but a tired heart.</p><p> </p><p>—</p><p> </p><p>Soonyoung is slowly pulled from his sleep by the feeling of a hand caressing his cheek. It’s warm and gentle against his face, but it’s unfamiliar. Soonyoung can’t bother trying to process why when the feeling is so nice against his skin.</p><p>“Hoonie…” he mumbles tiredly, taking Jihoon’s hand in his and lifting it away. <em>Huh. His hand feels bigger for some reason. </em>“Hoonie, go back to sleep.”</p><p>“I don’t want to though?”</p><p>Soonyoung’s brain works so incredibly slow when he’s exhausted that he doesn’t register he’s not hearing any babbles or baby gurgles.</p><p>“You’ll be grumpy later,” Soonyoung tries again, <em>anything </em>to make Jihoon stop talking.</p><p>
  <em>Wait a minute. </em>
</p><p>“Aren’t I grumpy always though?”</p><p>Soonyoung’s head shoots up immediately when the realization sinks in. His head swivels to the side and the first thing his bleary vision catches sight of is Jihoon. An <em>adult </em>Jihoon. An adult Jihoon who’s laying on his side facing Soonyoung, his hand tenderly tracing the lines of his nose and cheek with his slim fingers. The expression on his face is soft and gentle as he gazes at Soonyoung.</p><p>Soonyoung must still be dreaming.</p><p>There is absolutely <em>no way </em>Jihoon is looking at him like that.</p><p>Soonyoung sits up abruptly and rubs at his eyes to get rid of the bleariness. When his vision is cleared, he turns his head and <em>yep, Jihoon is still giving him that tender look.  </em></p><p>“Soonyoung,” Jihoon starts, but Soonyoung gets off Jihoon’s bed and backs away into his own, not taking his eyes off the younger man. “...Soonyoung, what are you doing? Come back. It’s cold.”</p><p>Soonyoung ignores him. The gears in his brains must’ve stopped turning. He grabs his phone on the beside stand and opens it.</p><p><em>I’m still in the present</em>, he thinks in disbelief. <em>So...he’s real? I didn’t time travel or anything? Is this Seungmin’s delusion powers working against me? </em></p><p>He gradually sets his phone back down and glances up at Jihoon again. He slowly sits down at the edge of his own bed, maintaining eye contact with the younger man as he does so. Jihoon’s face contorts from soft to confusion, as though he doesn’t understand what’s going on.</p><p>“I must be dreaming,” Soonyoung mutters, checking his phone again. </p><p>Jihoon sits up slowly, tilting his head. “As far as I know, you wouldn’t be able to read if you were dreaming, which you definitely are not. Come here.” He holds his arms out, as though he’s asking for a hug.</p><p>Soonyoung blinks once, twice, then decides to just go for it to see if he’s still dreaming or not. Maybe Jihoon’s hug will be able to squeeze him back to reality.</p><p>Slowly, Soonyoung gets up from the bed and makes his way to Jihoon, who pulls him back down onto his bed to lie down and hug him.</p><p>He freezes.</p><p>
  <em>Okay, this is...weird. </em>
</p><p>“Wait, hold on, okay. Wait,” Soonyoung laughs hysterically, pulling away from the hug and rubbing his hands over his face. “You cannot tell me I’m not dreaming.”</p><p>Jihoon gives him a confused look, entangling their legs together and throwing an arm over Soonyoung’s waist. “But you’re not? What’s wrong?”</p><p>Soonyoung lifts Jihoon’s arm, feels the warm weight of it in his hand. He drops it, grunting a little at the impact. Okay, now he’s beginning to doubt himself a little, but <em>still.  </em></p><p>“Jihoonie — uh, Jihoon,” he corrects himself, clearing his throat. “<em>Jihoon </em>would never let me cuddle him, let alone touch him. That is enough for me to conclude that I am, in fact, dreaming.” He sees a flash of hurt cross Jihoon’s face. “I mean, uh, not to say I don’t enjoy this...cuddling session we’re having, but I would very much like to wake up right now so I don’t give myself false hope.”</p><p>“False hope?” Jihoon repeats, bracing himself on his elbow to stare down at Soonyoung. “It’s not false hope if I like you too.”</p><p>Soonyoung chokes a little, not quite expecting such a blunt answer. Now he’s just downright confused.</p><p>He holds his arm out. “Can you pinch me?”</p><p>Jihoon gives him a concerned look. “Soonyoung, you’re not dreaming, I promise.”</p><p>Soonyoung stares up at him for a moment, then rubs his hands down his face. “What the hell is happening…” he mumbles under his breath. “I must’ve waken up in an alternate universe.”</p><p>“What will it take for you to realize this is real?” Jihoon questions, sounding exasperated.</p><p>Soonyoung blinks. “I...I don’t know…”</p><p>The next thing he knows, Jihoon is hovering over him with a contemplative look on his face. It happens so quickly that Soonyoung almost doesn’t realize what’s going on until Jihoon leans down and presses their lips together.</p><p>Soonyoung’s brain completely short circuits. </p><p>
  <em>Oh. This is real. </em>
</p><p>He remains frozen, mind still stubbornly trying to convince him that he’s dreaming and none of this is true. His heart is threatening to beat out of his chest but Jihoon keeps kissing him, soft little pecks of plump, warm lips, until Soonyoung finally gives in and relaxes, kissing Jihoon back with gentle force. He melts into him, and the kiss begins to turn deeper and more intense, but it’s still so full of gentle tenderness that Soonyoung almost can’t believe this is happening. </p><p>His hands make their way onto Jihoon’s shirt for purchase, needing something to hold onto as Jihoon pushes forward and slots their lips together more accurately, his fingers splaying across Soonyoung’s hip and squeezing lightly. Jihoon’s lips are so soft and warm and pliant and Soonyoung can’t get enough of it. His heart feels like it’s about to give out from how rapidly it’s beating. His body feels like it’s going into overdrive and his head feels like it’s stuffed full of cotton.</p><p>A long moment passes between them before Jihoon pulls away from Soonyoung’s lips with a soft pop and a gasp. It takes another moment for Soonyoung to open his eyes, afraid Jihoon won’t be there and he’s, in fact, dreaming, but when he sees Jihoon still smiling down at him with gentle eyes, Soonyoung can confidently conclude that what just happened was <em>real.  </em></p><p>“Hello, Soonie,” Jihoon murmurs, hand reaching out to thumb Soonyoung’s cheek.</p><p>Soonyoung swallows thickly and licks his swollen lips, noticing the way Jihoon’s eyes track the motion. “Wha...What was that…? You...You kissed…” He can’t bring himself to say it, suddenly embarrassed.</p><p>Jihoon smiles wider, leaning down to press their lips together once, twice, three times. “Should I explain? Or should I be mean and let you figure it out yourself?”</p><p>Jihoon takes Soonyoung’s hands and intertwines them together, and Soonyoung feels like mush at how perfectly their fingers fit together.</p><p>“Explain?” he breathes, squeezing Jihoon’s hand as one last reassurance he isn’t dreaming. “Explain what?” </p><p>Jihoon kisses him again. “I knew everything."</p><p><em>”What?” </em>Soonyoung feels like he can throw up.</p><p>Jihoon gives him a sheepish smile and brings Soonyoung’s hands up to kiss his knuckles. “I could understand and hear everything.”</p><p>Soonyoung suddenly feels a little nauseous. </p><p>
  <em>If he was aware of everything, then...then that means… </em>
</p><p>“Oh,” he utters, voice barely audible. God, he could just throw up right now. “S-So...you, um, you heard me...um, confess…?”</p><p>Jihoon nods slowly, and Soonyoung closes his eyes and covers his face the best he can with his free hand. He can feel his face flaming red with mortification. Maybe if he ignores Jihoon, he’ll go away.</p><p>“Oh god,” he whispers. “This is so embarrassing. I am so sorry you had to hear that.” </p><p>Jihoon gently pulls his hand away and weaves their fingers together to prevent him from covering his face again, and Soonyoung suddenly doesn’t know where to look. His eyes shift nervously between Jihoon’s intent eyes for a moment, before they flicker down to his shirt with wavering focus. Oh god, he might actually start crying from how humiliated he feels. </p><p>“Soonyoung.” Jihoon’s voice is gentle, almost cooing. “Soonie, look at me, please?”</p><p>Soonyoung has to muster up all his courage to make eye contact with Jihoon, only for it to disappear completely. His eyes drop back down to Jihoon’s shirt.</p><p>“Don’t make me suffer like this,” he whispers, voice beginning to tremble. There’s that familiar feeling of a lump in his throat and <em>god </em>, he hates it. “Please don’t…”</p><p>Jihoon sighs, using one hand to stroke through Soonyoung’s curly strands. “Well, if you’re not going to look at me, at least listen, okay?” </p><p>Soonyoung only manages a weak nod. </p><p>“Okay. It’s true that I was never, uh, fond of you,” Jihoon winces a little and Soonyoung inhales sharply. “But when I got turned to a baby...you took care of me so well. I know I was a pain in the ass. I threw tantrums and didn’t cooperate with you, but...you never gave up on me. You were so patient and kind and...so <em>loving</em>. You made me feel more at home than I ever had in the eight years I’ve left Busan.”</p><p>Soonyoung suddenly feels a little lightheaded from how fast his heart is racing. </p><p>Jihoon’s fingers stroke through his hair and he unconsciously leans into his touch. “The longer I was a baby, the more I got to know you, the more you took care of me...the more I started to fall for you. I thought that maybe being a baby wouldn’t be so bad if I got to be with you.” </p><p>Soonyoung is starting to convince himself he’s dreaming again. Is Jihoon really saying what he thinks he’s saying? </p><p>“I even tried confessing to you at one point but you didn’t understand me,” Jihoon chuckles, leaning in to place another feather light peck against Soonyoung’s lips that has his heart stuttering. “Had it not been for being turned into a baby, I would have never fallen in love with you.”</p><p>“Love…?” Soonyoung’s voice comes out as a squeak.</p><p>He doesn’t realize he’s started crying until Jihoon thumbs his tears away with another gentle coo, and only then does he laugh wetly. He’s still a little in disbelief, but Jihoon’s fond gaze and gentle smile is what’s giving him energy right now.</p><p>“Soonyoung,” he suddenly speaks, sounding serious. “Why didn’t you tell me about Seungmin? Who the hell is he?"</p><p>At that, Soonyoung feels everything inside him just shrivel up at the sound of his name. He clears his throat uncomfortably, looking away from Jihoon.</p><p>“He’s...” he starts, swallowing thickly. “Don’t worry about him. He’s just trouble."</p><p>“Gives me all the more reason to worry about him,” Jihoon says, clambering off of Soonyoung and pulling them up to sit. “Who is he? Does he stalk you or something? Why did Seungkwan ask if he harassed you again? He’s done it before? For how long?"</p><p>Soonyoung licks his lips and looks down at his fingers. “I can’t remember when he started,” he starts, trying to gather his thoughts. “We share most of the same classes together so it’s almost impossible not to have him follow me around. He’s tried...manipulating me with his powers. He’s tried hypnotizing me and all that. I just...I don’t know how to get rid of him."</p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me?” Jihoon questions, upset. “I would’ve gotten rid of him easily."</p><p>Soonyoung chuckles bitterly. “You think I would’ve gone to you when I thought you hated me?” he asks, and the question hurts Jihoon more than he thought it could. “Uh, sorry. That was a little mean."</p><p><em>There he goes again, </em>Jihoon thinks with a sigh, grabbing onto Soonyoung’s fumbling hands. <em>Always thinking about others.</em></p><p>“I’m sorry,” he says earnestly, kissing Soonyoung’s fingers. “I’m sorry I made you feel like shit when you deserve so much better. Seriously, Soonyoung. You’re like an angel. I...I can’t believe you’ve been feeling this way this whole time. Let me make it up to you?"</p><p>Soonyoung looks shy. “How?"</p><p>Jihoon tilts his head. “I can help you control your powers,” he offers.</p><p>He can see the excitement lighting up Soonyoung’s face at that, and his heart blossoms warmly at the sight. Then, as quick as the excitement came, it vanishes. Soonyoung’s shoulders deflate as though he just remembered something and Jihoon’s heart pangs at the thought.</p><p>“Oh, uh,” Soonyoung says softly, dejected. “Maybe that’s not...such a good idea. I’ll probably just ruin the dorm again.” He tries laughing it off but Jihoon can hear the pain in his voice. </p><p>“No, I’ll teach you,” Jihoon says firmly. “I don’t care if you ruin the dorm. I’ll teach you until you can control it."</p><p>“Jihoon...you really don’t have to..."</p><p>“I will."</p><p>A moment of silence passes between them, and Jihoon can clearly see that Soonyoung wants to accept his offer, but for some reason he’s still hesitant. </p><p>“You’ll give up on me,” Soonyoung mumbles. “You’ll give up on me just like I gave up on myself."</p><p> Jihoon’s heart breaks. “I won’t,” he promises fiercely. “I’ll help you like you helped me."</p><p>Soonyoung’s eyes are glistening when he looks at Jihoon, both with tears and hope. Jihoon looks at him sincerely, reaching out to gently brush his tears away with his knuckles.</p><p>Finally, <em>finally, </em>Soonyoung sucks in a breath and nods once. “Okay, teach me."</p><p> </p><p>—<br/>
<br/>
</p><p> </p><p>“Relax. Breathe. Take your time.”</p><p>Soonyoung inhales deeply as he stares at the blazing fire in front of him. He and Jihoon had been practicing — or rather, <em>he’d </em>been practicing how to control his powers, and Jihoon is just there for moral support. They’re standing in their kitchen, a small fire blazing on the stove top thanks to Jihoon’s doing. The younger man is standing behind him, giving him a backhug and peering over his shoulder to check on his progress.</p><p>Soonyoung holds his hand out a few inches away from the fire and tries to concentrate on the feeling inside him, cold but comforting. He shuts his eyes tight and tries not to focus on the crackling of the fire.</p><p>
  <em>Focus. Focus. Focus. Reach in, tug, and pull. Tug and pull. </em>
</p><p>Soonyoung can feel the coldness spread throughout his body. </p><p>“Relax,” Jihoon murmurs against his ear. “Breathe. Focus. You’re in your head too much. Relax.”</p><p>Soonyoung takes in another deep inhale, trying to focus on the tingling in his fingertips. His eyebrows furrow as he tries to ease his mind, and he can feel the coolness beginning to run up and down his arm. Shivers rack down his spine as he tries putting all his focus on the cold feeling inside him.</p><p>Slowly, water begins to trickle from his fingertips, dripping onto the tiled floor beneath them.</p><p>“Good,” Jihoon praises. “Now grab onto that feeling — ” His hand climbs up Soonyoung’s chest and fists his shirt, tugging harshly, “ — and <em>pull.” </em></p><p>As if on reflex, water begins to shoot out from Soonyoung’s palm erratically, and he watches in fascination as it splashes messily into the fire, diminishing some of it and making water pool onto the floor. Unlike last time though, Jihoon doesn’t seem to mind the mess and only hums approvingly.</p><p>“Inhale,” Jihoon whispers, his other hand rubbing soothing circles on Soonyoung’s hips. “Exhale.”</p><p>Soonyoung does as he’s told, feeling giddy when the erratic spurts of water starts jetting from his palm steadily. “I’m doing it,” he breathes, eyes wide with wonder. “Ji-Jihoonie, I’m — I’m doing it! I’m actually doing it! Now...Now how do I stop?”</p><p>Jihoon chuckles and kisses Soonyoung’s shoulder blade. “Pull back. Grab it and yank it.”</p><p>Soonyoung does as he’s told, grabbing onto the blue flame inside him. He envisions a glowing white hand reaching out to that blue flame and snatching it up, wrestling the licking fire into submission. He does the same thing physically, thrusting his hand forward and grabbing onto the air. He yanks his hand back, and he’s immensely pleased when the water stops spurting from his hand, disappearing without a trace.</p><p>“I did it!” Soonyoung squeals, jumping around excitedly.</p><p>Jihoon laughs and holds him in place. “There’s still water on the floor and smoke in the air, Soonie. Be careful. Here, I’ll clean it.”</p><p>Soonyoung watches in awe as Jihoon raises his hands up to capture the smoke into a gray ball in his palm. The ball of smoke erupts into a small flame, one that Jihoon diminishes quickly by simply blowing on it. Then he crouches down low and makes the water from the floor evaporate with a ball of heat, effectively drying the tiles to prevent any mishaps from happening.</p><p>“You make it look so easy,” Soonyoung sighs, looking down at his own hands. </p><p>Jihoon walks over and grabs his hands, raising them up to kiss his knuckles. “It’ll get easier as time goes on,” he reassures. “It might seem hard right now, but you’ll be able to control it on your own soon without any help. I believe in you."</p><p>Soonyoung gives him a hesitant look. “How can you be so sure?”</p><p>Jihoon smiles at him confidently. “Because my Soonie can do anything.”</p><p>Soonyoung flushes, glancing down at their hands shyly. “Jihoonie…you think too highly of me.”</p><p>Chuckling a little, Jihoon wraps his arms around Soonyoung and kisses him. “Just have faith in yourself. Stop putting yourself down. We’ll be able to spar on the field before you know it. If you don’t keep trying for yourself, then try for me at least?”</p><p>Soonyoung stares at him, then tucks his head in Jihoon’s neck to to hide a growing smile. “Okay,” he whispers, arms tightening around Jihoon. “I’ll try...for you.”</p><p>“Thank you,” Jihoon murmurs, pressing a kiss to Soonyoung’s cheek. “Now come on, I’m hungry and we don’t have food, and if I find Seungmin’s dried pruned face at the grocery store again, I swear I’ll beat his ass until he turns into a raisin. I won’t let him lay another finger on you ever again.”</p><p>Laughing, Soonyoung pulls away and tugs at his hand. “Well, let’s go then before before you really jump him,” he giggles, turning his head to give Jihoon another breathtaking smile. “And if we do so happen to bump into him, I won’t stop you at all. I’ll even spray water on him too!”</p><p>Jihoon chuckles fondly and shakes his head as he lets Soonyoung tug him out the door excitedly.</p><p><em>Yeah, </em>he thinks fondly, stumbling after Soonyoung down the halls. <em>I love this dork. </em></p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>And that’s a wrap!</p><p>Hehehe, writing this was so fun and fluffy, I just love baby Jihoon ;-; and Soonyoung being his oblivious caretaker just gave me all the cavities. </p><p>Tbh, there was originally supposed to be a fight scene between Soonyoung and Seungmin that showcases their powers, but I’m not good at writing fight scenes, huhu. Action scenes like that are really hard to describe into words, so I decided to write a small scene of Jihoon teaching Soonyoung how to control his powers as the alternate ending. I’m a little disappointed about that but at least this is an overall fluffy fic, huhu.</p><p>There was supposed to be a 4th chapter to this but it ended up being too short of a chapter, so I just added that chapter into this one, so now it’s too long of a chapter &gt;&lt;; Oh well, at least this is published now, huhuhu.</p><p>Did I mention that this is VERY loosely based off My Hero Academia? Hehehe. Todoroki is hot, just saying.</p><p>  <a href="https://twitter.com/mistehri">Twitter</a><br/><a href="https://curiouscat.qa/mistehri">Curious Cat</a></p><p>As always, feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading! ❤</p>
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